This November, Apple joined the streaming game by releasing its own video-on-demand web service known as Apple TV+. Instead of pulling together an extensive catalog of already existing shows for the service, though, Apple decided to debut Apple TV+ with a small selection of new, original series. From a period comedy about an American poet to an animation inspired by the Peanuts comics, the streaming service decided to cover all the bases....

Apple TV+ is reportedly eyeing a November 2019 release date. There is already a plethora of streaming services available with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and others, but the field is set to get more crowded this year. Of course, there’s been much publicity surrounding Disney+, the Mouse House’s streaming platform that will be home to Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and more. Disney isn’t the only mega corporation looking to get into the streaming wars; tech giant Apple is set to launch a service of their own....

The decade-long legal battle between Apple and VirnetX may be coming to an end. Today the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Apple to hear the case in which it may end up owing VirnetX $400+ million. Update 3/13: VirnetX has said today in a press release that Apple has paid the full $454,033,859.87 judgment awarded in the lawsuit, ending the ten-year legal fight (via MacRumors). Reported by Reuters, the news that the Supreme Court today denied Apple’s request to hear the case comes after a US Court of Appeals rejected Apple’s request for a rehearing earlier this month....

Apple’s head of Apple Pay, Jennifer Bailey, is set to appear alongside other industry titans at Recode’s Code Commerce conference this December. The Apple exec ran the company’s online stores for many years and now leads Apple Pay, Apple’s contactless mobile payments solution. The Code Commerce meeting takes place multiple times a year; Bailey will be appearing at the last one in 2016 on December 6. No doubt the new MacBook Pro with integrated Apple Pay will form part of the discussions....

Apple created a new section on its website dedicated to the enhanced iTunes U service that was updated during last week’s education announcement. The new web-based resources available at www.apple.com/support/itunes-u contain a wealth of information and how-to topics for educators to implement the new iTunes U digital features into their workflow. Specifically, training course are available for iTunes U Public Site Manager and iTunes U Course Manager, as well as various guides on publishing on iTunes U....

Apple announced macOS Big Sur with a redesigned interface and new features, including widgets, Control Center, and more. The update also brings some important changes that weren’t mentioned on stage at WWDC 2020, such as a system capable of installing software updates faster in the background. Users are currently unable to use the Mac during the update installation process, which can take up to an hour depending on the update. Both the preparation and installation process are done on boot, so the system remains inaccessible until the update is complete....

There’s up to 1TB worth of SSD storage with today’s sale. You’ll also find the usual four Thunderbolt 3 ports, 16GB worth of RAM, and a redesigned Touch Bar with physical escape and power buttons. It’s arguably the best content-creation machine on the market today if you’re in need of a portable design. Check out our hands-on review for additional details. AirPods Pro with ANC, more start at $195 Best Buy offers Apple’s AirPods Pro in certified refurbished condition for $195....

New data from SensorTower today reveals 164 publishers generated their first million dollars in net revenue during 2018, an approximately 13% increase from 143 in 2017. The interesting data point arises when comparing to Google’s Play Store, who saw 71 publishers last year net one million dollars, and just 88 in 2018. Considering iOS accounts for less than a quarter of mobile operating systems globally with Android generally dominating the remainder, it’s further demonstration of how lucrative iOS app revenue is compared to Android....

Yesterday, we reported that Apple is gearing up to launch its iPhone trade-in program in September. The program will allow an iPhone user to exchange an older iPhone model for a new iPhone at a discounted price. Today, we’ve learned several new details about the program, including how it works, the official name, and information about the launch. The trade-in program will be marketed as the “iPhone Reuse and Recycle Program....

Apple’s plan to sell used iPhones in India to bring new customers into the Apple ecosystem has met with strong opposition, reports Bloomberg. A newly-formed lobbying group has sent a letter to the government asking it to deny Apple the official approval it would need to begin the sales – and one of the companies behind the group is Samsung. “Why even consider allowing import of used phones when import of other used goods such as cars are precluded by 300 percent duty levies?...

Apple has announced on their retail website that the company’s Southlake Town Square location in Southlake, Texas will close for renovations on March 4th. Today’s announcement follows the trend of retail renovations that first began in 2015, refreshing existing locations with the company’s modern store design. Apple has been moving at a rapid pace in 2018, announcing a new store closure every week for the past three weeks. On January 21st we reported that Apple Green Hills was set to close, and Apple Alderwood Mall followed just a week later....

Apple’s decision to include eSIMs into the iPhone XS/Max and iPhone XR will dramatically accelerate adoption of the technology, says a new report … Although Apple uses eSIMs in some iPads and Apple Watches, eSIMs have not yet taken off in smartphones, says ABI Research – but the new iPhones will change that. The firm says that Samsung, Huawei, LG and Xiaomi are all now more likely to incorporate eSIMs into their phones following Apple’s decision....

After some debate over whether the difference between iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models made with Samsung or TSMC chips may impact battery life, Apple has offered its own take on the matter: That 2-3% difference may be greater than some suspected, myself included, considering how tight battery life on iPhones can be with moderate to heavy usage. Apple’s full statement (via Ars Technica) actually addresses the type of battery tests many testers reference when measuring performance as being unrealistic:...

After months of speculation, Apple last week officially announced the headphone jack-free iPhone 7. Now, the company appears to be asking MacBook Pro users to take a survey concerning their use of the various connectivity options supported by their laptop. One of the questions relates to the use of the headphone jack, perhaps indicating that Apple is considering removing the connection from the MacBook, as well… The survey, first noticed by MacRumors and corroborated by various posts on Twitter, addresses a variety of areas concerning the MacBook Pro....

Apple has released its latest Behind the Mac video, this time featuring the recording process of Grammy award winning artist James Blake. The short sub-one-minute video takes a look at some behind the scenes footage of Blake recording his latest track “Are you even real” from home. The new single from James Blake is available today. A video in a similar vein includes a look at how Grammy-nominated music producer Oak Felder uses his MacBook Pro....

The iPod, which has had its own tab on the Apple.com web site’s homepage for over 13 years, today disappeared from Apple’s homepage and menu bar — replaced with and subordinated under a new Music button. iPod sales have been slipping for years, the result of both steadily increasing demand for iPhones and reduced support from Apple, which has left previously-introduced iPod hardware untouched and undermarketed. iPod shuffle, iPod nano, and iPod touch models remain available from Apple (and discounted elsewhere), but their de-emphasis suggests that Apple isn’t particularly concerned with promoting them to customers....

Apple has released an update to macOS High Sierra for all Macs running macOS 10.13.2. The supplemental security update likely addresses the Spectre flaw that affected Safari and may contain further mitigations for Meltdown. Apple released the original version of macOS 10.13.2 back in early December, but acknowledged last week that Safari would require further updates to help lessen potential issues related to recently disclosed vulnerabilities. Apple has already released mitigations in iOS 11....

Update: Apple says that the Chinese MIIT requires VPN providers to obtain a license. The company has been ‘required’ to remove VPN apps from the App Store in China which do not meet the regulations. Apple has begun removing all VPN apps from the App Store in China, as first noted by the developers of ExpressVPN. In a blog post, they reported that Apple informed them that their app had been pulled from the Chinese App Store....

In the lead up to Apple’s release of AirPods late last month, I had tested just about every pair of cord-free earbuds already on the market. But now that AirPods are here and I’ve been using them daily for an extended period of time, the difference is even more striking than I anticipated. With AirPods, Apple has done what it does best: taken an emerging product category with a frustrating user experience and delivered a polished product made possible by its control over both the hardware and software....

For the first time since iOS 14 was released to the public in September, Apple has updated its developer webpage with adoption information for this year’s update. Apple’s new data indicates that iOS 14 is now installed on 81% of iPhones introduced in the last four years. Apple’s data for iOS and iPadOS usage data is based on devices accessing the App Store. This newest set of data was measured on December 15, Apple says....