Apple has just recently updated its System Status webpage to reflect on ongoing issues with its cloud services. According to the webpage, users are unable to sign in to a variety of services, including iCloud, the App Store, the iTunes Store, and iTunes U. Apple’s System Status webpage says the issues began just before 4PM ET and have yet to be resolved. It’s unclear how widespread the connectivity issues are, though Apple’s timeline depicts the outage in red for the iTunes Store, App Store, and iCloud....

Apple usually disables jailbreaks in new software releases. That is part of the reason why it took so long for Absinthe to debut for the iPhone 4S. It appears that Apple is also trying to break Siri running on unsupported devices, such as the iPhone 4. Many people who use Spire, the popular Siri port for the iPhone 4, have reported Siri is now disabled on their unsupported device. Has another cat and mouse game begun?...

Apple has scheduled its next Apple Watch Activity Challenge for November 11 in honor of Veterans Day. In order to complete this challenge, you simply have to complete a workout that is 11 minutes or longer. You can complete the workout using the Workouts app on Apple Watch or any other app that records workouts to the Health app: Apple says: Activity Challenges allow Apple Watch users to collect virtual trophies available through the Achievements tab of the Activity app on iOS....

Apple has overhauled its “Close Your Rings” webpage today with new stories from Apple Watch users. The webpage highlights how everyday Apple Watch users are taking advantage of features such as competitions, heart rate tracking, and more. In total, Apple has posted three new “Close Your Rings” stories on its website, first spotted by Kyle Seth Gray on Twitter. The first new story is from an Apple Watch user named Yoyo, who says she likes to use the watchOS competitions to motive her to exercise every day....

Apple this evening has shared a new Shot on iPhone 7 ad that highlights images taken by photographers around the world. The ad is entitled “One Night” and set to a jazzy piano track, coming in at 1 minute in length. The new ad focuses on images taken on the same night in 15 cities across 6 different continents. The ad showcases images taken by 16 different photographers. The images are wide-ranging in what they show....

Apple will introduce several major initiatives to ready its retail stores for the Apple Watch’s launch in April, according to sources briefed on the upcoming changes. Starting on April 10th, Apple will allocate 15 minutes per customer for in-store try-on appointments, using 10 or more try-on stations to manage what’s expected to be a steady flow of customers interested in having hands-on time with the Watch. While customers will not necessarily be required to have an appointment, they will be time-limited and guided during the hands-on experience....

Remember when Motorola sued Apple (and everyone else) earlier this month? Remember when Motorola said Droid Does and iPhone Doesn’t? Well today Apple is hitting back at Motorola. Apple has recently filed two lawsuits against Motorola over six patents filed by Apple relating to Multi-Touch. According to Apple’s lawsuit the Motorola products infringing on Apple’s Intellectual Property are the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq, Cliq XT, BackFlip, Devour A555, Devour i1, and Charm 1....

As detailed in a new report from CNET, the US Department of Commerce has added 11 Chinese companies to its list of those implicated in human rights violations. Among those 11 companies is one that serves as a supplier or partner for countless big tech companies, including Apple. The report explains that Nanchang O-Film Tech has links to Apple and other tech companies: The Commerce Department said that these 11 Chinese companies supported “mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, involuntary collection of biometric data, and genetic analysis” of Uighurs and other minority groups....

New Leica M The story comes from PetaPixel and would seem pretty sensational: So, a guy who produces industrial designs used by hundreds of millions is going to design a one-off camera? That camera is supposed to be auctioned off for charity and would probably command a pretty high price. But, even if it is worth millions, is designing a camera worth Sir Jony’s time? It feels like some of the details have been lost in translation....

Apple will begin providing select retail store employees access to upcoming versions of iOS in order to widen its pre-release testing program, according to multiple sources. The program will begin in the near-future with an upcoming iOS release, perhaps version 8.2, which is slated to be released alongside the Apple Watch… This new program will mark Apple’s first expansion of pre-release iOS version testing beyond developers and employees within the walls of Apple’s Cupertino headquarters....

When the new Apple TV launched last week, one notable omission in the tvOS App Store were Top Charts like we are used to seeing on iOS devices. The obvious reason for this omission seemed to be that Apple didn’t have enough data collected to populate top charts, but now that appears to have changed… Users of the new Apple TV have noticed a new section in the device’s App Store that lists the Top Charts for tvOS applications....

The Next Web notes that Apple today introduced Brazil to its Apple TV set-top box. The hobby project is available in the Brazilian online Apple Store for R$ 399,00, or approximately $217 (compare this to the $99 price point in the United States). The gizmo is available now and comes with free shipping. This is the first BRIC nation to get the Apple TV (BRIC being a term for huge global emerging economies coined by Goldman Sachs)....

Apple has steadily been gaining new partners to its universal search feature on the fourth-gen Apple TV since its launch last fall, and this week the number of compatible channels in the United States has topped over 50 in total. Several new additions including Apple Music, Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, and TNT all now work with search. Search lets you find movies and TV shows across various apps by asking Siri or using the Search app....

Apple has officially announced iOS 12 for iPhone and iPad at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose. We’ll update our story below with details as they’re announced. Apple says iOS 12 doubles down on performance iOS 12 will be supported on all iOS 11 devices Apps launch 40% faster, keyboard can appear 50% faster, and slide to take photo can be up to 70% iOS 12 can make share sheet and apps launch twice as fast CPU performance can ramp up instantly when needed, then ramp down to preserve battery life Apple working with Adobe, Autodesk, others for new 3D object features with AR iOS 12 includes a new ARKit-powered Apple app called Measure Feature icons for performance, ARKit 2, Photos, Siri, an unknown icon, Voice Memos, iBooks (Apple Books?...

Apple is currently planning to use the new system font developed for the Apple Watch to refresh the looks of iPads, iPhones, and Macs running iOS 9 “Monarch” and OS X 10.11 “Gala,” according to sources with knowledge of the preparations. Current plans call for the Apple-designed San Francisco font to replace Helvetica Neue, which came to iOS 7 in 2013 and OS X Yosemite just last year, beginning with a June debut at WWDC…...

Apple has now released iOS 10 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to the public. The free update adds many new features to iOS including a new Messages app with enhanced emoji, stickers, Digital Touch and iMessage apps; third-party app integration with Siri voice queries; redesigned Music and Maps apps with a new visual style and simpler user interfaces; automatic face and object tagging in Photos and much more. Read below to find out how to update (and if your device is compatible) then check out our walkthrough of everything new....

The company achieved 54 million iPod sales (down one percent) during its last financial year, accruing $8.091 billion (down 12 percent). As you can see, revenue fell more than unit sales, reflecting lower selling prices, though shored up by the slightly pricier iPod touch devices. Each iPod sale brought $149 in for Apple, down 11 percent from $167 in 2008 due to lower prices. iTunes keeps on rolling, with the company confirming “double digit” growth in all regions, boosted, according to the management discussion, by: “Heightened consumer interest in downloading third-party digital content and applications, continued growth in its customer base of iPod and iPhone customers, the expansion of third-party audio and video content available for sale and rent via the iTunes Store, and the continued interest in and growth of the App Store....

Google has been ridiculed over creating and shutting down various applications over the years, but when it comes to enterprise software applications, I would prefer that over letting things die a slow agonizing death. Apple, on the other hand, has done the latter with two of its K–12 focused software applications: iBooks Author and iTunes U. Apple has let these apps suffer from software rot. About Making The Grade: Every Saturday, Bradley Chambers publishes a new article about Apple in education....

It’s coming up to the end of the year, and it’s time for me to write my take on Apple’s report card 2019. Just as I’ve done for 2016, 2017 and 2018, I’m taking a look back at what the company has achieved during the year, focusing this year on its rather extensive number of product launches. These started with a whimper – a new iPad mini which looked exactly like the old iPad mini – and ended with a bang, the release of the much-hyped all-new Mac Pro…...

For the sixth year in a row, Tim Cook is in attendance at the Sun Valley media conference in Idaho this summer. Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of software and services, is there alongside Cook. The duo have made it a trend to attend Sun Valley every year together. As you can see in the image above from Getty photographer Drew Angerer, Cue and Cook are seemingly inseparable (also seemingly rocking matching shirts)....