The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are powerful tools in the right hands, and artist Rob Zilla is a great example of what’s possible with the latest hardware. Apple is showcasing his work illustrating NBA stars like Kevin Durant using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil with an exclusive look at how Zilla creates from start to finish. Zilla uses the excellent Adobe Illustrator Draw app for iOS to create these incredible illustrations....

As Apple builds out its new video service, the company has expanded its international team with a new hire from BBC Films. Variety reports that Joe Oppenheimer has been tapped to work on Apple’s international development team. The report adds that Oppenheimer will report to Apple’s creative director for Europe, Jay Hunt: Oppenheimer previously worked as acting head of films for BBC Films, but left the company late last year after Film4 Head of Creative Rose Garnett was officially hired for the role....

Apple Pay is continuing to expand to more users around world. Apple’s mobile payment platform is now available to customers of additional banks in Sweden, Austria, and Malta. In Malta, Apple Pay is currently supported by Monese and Revolut. That will soon change, however, as BOV (Bank of Valetta) has announced that it will soon add support for Apple Pay. This makes BOV the first national bank in Malta to support Apple Pay....

A host of interesting Apple and Steve Jobs memorabilia is up for auction from Apple product design engineer, Jerrold Manock. Available items include a Steve Jobs signed contract for the Apple II, Manock’s original 1983 Macintosh computer, an Apple Snow White Paperweight, hats, beach towels, t-shirts, and much more. RR Auction is holding the “Steve Jobs auction featuring The Lifetime Collection of Apple Product Design Engineer, Jerrold Manock.” Here’s how the auction house describes the collection:...

Update: Now available on iBooks to download on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac. Apple has today posted its Apple Watch User Guide, as customers begin to receive their Watches starting tomorrow. The guide serves as an accompaniment to the Watch, teaching users how to navigate around the interface and access various features. The guide covers all of the native first-party Apple Watch apps as well as general user-interface tips and tricks....

After the LTE iPad mini went on sale alongside the WiFi version, we noted that customers were seeing various delivery dates for the product. However, most readers reported delivery dates of either November 21st or November 23. A few days later, Apple removed the dates leading some to believe that the LTE iPad mini may be facing some sort of delay. Today, though, the LTE iPad mini delivery date seems to be back for a number of readers....

Apple has officially released iPadOS 14 to the public with the new software bringing a variety of changes and improvements. iPadOS 14 is compatible with the iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, iPad 5th gen and later, and all iPad Pro models. To check if iPadOS 14 is available on your iPad, head to Settings > General > Software Update. Keep checking back as it may take some time for the major update rollout to reach everyone....

Apple has posted its latest iPhone 5s, called “Dreams,” to its YouTube channel. The new ad shows a number of iPhone owners using their devices in various professional and personal pursuits ranging from art, to medicine, to fighting fires. The ad is set to Jennifer O’Connor’s new single “When I Grow Up,” which was released on iTunes earlier this week. The app highlights a specific set of apps, which Apple has detailed on the updated page “Powerful” on its website....

Along with updates to iWork and iLife today, Apple has overhauled their Podcasts, Find my iPhone, and iTunes Trailers apps to fall in line with the design paradigms of iOS 7. Along with new icons, all three apps have been completely redesigned, with user interfaces that closely resemble Apple’s other iOS 7 apps. While Find my iPhone and iTunes Trailers don’t include new features, Podcasts has received updates to the search tab, Top Charts section, and more....

Apple has released an updated version of iTunes through the Mac App Store, although the version number and release notes appear the same. iTunes 12.6.1 with ‘minor app and performance improvements’ was first released last Monday with no visible changes, but Apple has issued a new iTunes update through the Mac App Store today without changing the version number or change log. The new iTunes 12.6.1 update does have a slightly higher build number at 12....

Apple appears to be tweaking its branding for retail stores by removing the word ‘Store’, as spotted on the company’s website (via MacRumors). Apple has started transitioning its own listings for retail stores to remove the word “store,” and for new stores starting with the launch of its just opened San Francisco location that’s listed as “Apple Union Square”. The changes build upon community and volunteering efforts we detailed earleir this year that Apple is pushing throughout its retail system....

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is in early talks with “Iranian distributors” to bring the iPhone to Iran: The report notes that financial and banking sanctions as well as political tension has thus far prevented companies like Apple from conducting business in Iran, but points to a policy change in May that lifted the ban on sales of “consumer communications technologies” in the country. The report goes on the claim that “senior Apple executives” have already met with “potential Iranian distributors” at Apple’s regional headquarters in London....

Chief Executive Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer are live on Apple’s Q3 2012 call to give opening remarks, and the execs just revealed Apple saw its best quarter ever for U.S. education institution Mac sales. Rutherford County, N.C., for instance, purchased 6,000 MacBook Airs. Other education-related statistics: — 14 million iTunes U downloads, 700,000 new schools, and 750 new courses — iPad 2 in K-12 market particularly strong—nearly doubling y-o-y (Apple sold 17 million iPads in Q3 2012, compared to 9....

A new report today from Axios details that a new name has popped up on Intel’s shortlist to fill its open CEO position: Johny Srouji. The company’s search has been ongoing for half a year and Apple’s SVP of Hardware has a strong history of working with the chipmaker. Johny Srouji is Apple’s SVP of Hardware Technologies. He joined Apple back in 2008 to spear head the development of the company’s first custom chip, the A4....

Update: Several readers have noted that Vaghaye Gostar Fars claims to be the first to receive approval from the government in Iran to import Apple products following the sales ban, but is not necessarily officially associated with Apple. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment. Following the U.S. government lifting a United States embargo for exports of products into Iran on May 30th of last year, reports from Fars News Agency and other local publications note the first company has now been granted permission by authorities in the country to start selling Apple products (via zoomit....

A new report today from Bloomberg looks at the tricky situation Apple may be in as it looks into sourcing 5G modems for its 2020 iPhone lineup. While using Intel may be the company’s first choice, there could be a major downside in using those chips. Meanwhile, Apple’s other 5G modem supplier options are also less than ideal. While Android smartphone manufacturers are launching 5G capable smartphones this year, carriers won’t be launching widespread coverage of the new cellular standard until late this year and into 2020....

Apple touted the improved capabilities of the iPhone XS camera during the launch, and shared a ‘Shot on iPhone XS‘ video. We’ve also shared some of our own sample photos, together with a hands-on of the real-time preview of apparent depth of field effects. Apple has now shared iPhone XS photo examples, shot not by the company but rather by owners of the phone from around the world … The photos shared by Apple were pulled from Instagram and Twitter, the company apparently searching for #shotoniphonexs and #shotoniphonexsmax hashtags....

I was writing some time ago about analyst research with component manufacturers saying that a smaller tablet from Apple could be in the works. It looks like things are going in that direction. At that time, it was estimated that the smaller iPad would make its way to the market for the winter holidays and, since the WSJ’s sources say that manufacturers were told to gear up to start mass production around September....

As it continues to battle robberies at retail stores across the country, Apple is turning to police for help in deterring thieves and beefing up Apple store security. While many stores around the country have long had police and security standing by, CBS Sacramento says Apple is expanding its efforts at local stores. In Sacramento and Roseville, California, Apple is contracting with police to provide “tighter security” at its retail stores....

The Environmental Protection Agency has published its list of the top 30 tech and telecom companies in the U.S. that take advantage of the most renewable energy sources, placing Apple near the top of the bunch at fourth place. Apple’s green power consumption reached 537,393,667 kWh, according to the EPA’s report. According to the EPA, only Intel, Microsoft, and Google use more green energy than the Cupertino company—though Apple definitely takes the prize for sourcing its power from the longest list of providers (eleven, compared to the next-highest count of only five)....