In addition to seeding the second beta of iOS 9.3.2, Apple today has seeded the second beta of watchOS 2.2.1 to developers. The new build comes two weeks after the first beta was released. The update comes several weeks after Apple released the more substantial watchOS 2.2 update. watchOS 2.2 so added a totally revamped Apple Maps app and glance, and it’s required to use iOS 9.3 beta’s new multi-watch feature....
According to Re/code, Apple may soon drop the Fitbit health tracking devices from its retail stores. The report lacked a specific reason for Apple planning to no longer carry Fitbit bands but noted Fitbit’s lack of support for HealthKit on iOS 8 so far as well as Apple’s own fitness tracking device plans with the release of the Apple Watch in 2015. Apple may soon stop selling the popular Fitbit devices, as it clears way for its own wearable technology product set to launch sometime next year, according to sources....
Apple RomaEst in Italy will permanently close on October 17 as Apple prepares to open a historic flagship store in the center of Rome. The plan to close Apple’s oldest store in Italy was outlined in early January, but delays due to COVID-19 significantly impacted the progress of the project. The webpage for Apple RomaEst was updated Friday morning to thank customers for more than 13 great years at Centro Commerciale RomaEst, a shopping center in Rome’s suburb of Lunghezza....
Apple is said to owe 13 billion euros (estimated $16 billion USD) to Ireland, according to the country’s tax collectors, Reuters reports. Niall Cody, Revenue Commissioners’ chairman, says that Apple’s bill (which it is disputing) is “ in that ballpark,” and that nearly all calculations will be done and sent before the end of April. As we reported back in January, Ireland was ordered to recover 13 billion euros from Apple in underpaid taxes, and it looks like this will indeed be the final amount that will be owed....
Siri and Apple Music in every room If I were in charge of Apple’s home projects, my number one goal would be to have a device in every room that enables access to Siri, Apple Music, and Apple Podcasts. I actually think it should come in two flavors. There should be a $69 model with an Echo Dot quality speaker, and then there should be a $99 option that is a Wi-Fi mesh access point for a revived Airport Extreme Wi-Fi product....
Apple’s tiny speaker is getting a big spotlight at Apple Stores, with new displays that turn it up to 11 — or in this case, 17. A wall of 17 HomePods fills the latest Avenue in select stores. You can experience it for yourself today at home. A circular display with graphics detailing the intelligent features of HomePod mini animates at the center of a matrix of black and white HomePod mini models....
Here’s everything you need to know about the new Studio Display, including its specs and key features. At the top of the Studio Display sits a 12MP Ultra Wide camera, capable of Center Stage. That’s Apple’s smart camera feature that continuously pans, zooms, and focuses on you as you move around. There’s also a three-mic array for greater voice detection and noise cancellation. Flanking the sides of the monitor are six high-fidelity speakers, four of which are force-cancelling woofers....
Apple has been steadily improving the tvOS App Store experience for customers and developers on the new Apple TV, and today it’s continuing by turning on support for app previews. Developers can create app previews, which are videos showing the app in action beyond just screenshots, to show customers how their apps work before they download or purchase the app. Apple introduced app previews on the iOS App Store for iPhone and iPad as part of the iOS 8 update in 2014....
New Apple TV in manufacturing this December, CDMA model iPhones will have a metal, not a glass back and the future of the iPad sees a 7-inch model and new, faster processor debut in December, that’s this morning’s big rumor round-up… We’ve been looking at the latest reports from Digitimes (so usual warnings etc.) that Apple intends introducing an upgraded iPad equipped with a Cortex A9 processor next year. The new 9....
With a new teaser for Dickinson, Apple TV+ continues to roll out previews of its upcoming original programming as the presumed launch date of the service draws near. The series is the fourth of Apple’s slate of new shows set to premiere this fall, coming on the heels of Ron D. Moore’s alt-history space race drama For All Mankind, the star-studded earnestness of Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon’s The Morning Show, and, wait for it… Snoopy in Space....
Apple is continuing the expansion of Apple Pay today with the addition of four new countries; Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates – the Scandinavian countries first reported last week . See a list of banks for the new countries after the jump. Apple Pay enables users to pay with their iPhone or Apple Watch at retailers with contactless terminals. Users can also Apple Pay on supported websites with iOS devices or the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar....
Following the release of iOS 14.4 beta 1, watchOS 7.3 beta 1, and tvOS 14.1 beta 1, Apple has just released the first beta of macOS Big Sur 11.2 to developers. The update comes two days after the company released macOS Big Sur 11.1 to the public. It’s unclear what’s new in the macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta, but based on the iOS 14.4 beta 1 — which was released earlier today — Apple is focusing on bug fixes and general improvements in today’s release....
Apple has released iOS 9.3.1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The bug fix update to iOS 9.3, released last week, contains a crucial improvement for iOS users: it addresses the widespread issue where apps (and sometimes the whole OS) would crash or hangs when tapping links. We’ll update the post if we spot anything else notable, although the Release Notes do not suggest anything else has changed … The 9....
Yesterday, we told you the U.K. Court of Appeal in London ordered Apple to remove “inaccurate comments” from the Samsung apology posted on its U.K. website within 24 hours. As part of the initial ruling, Apple was also supposed to post newspaper advertisements in the country explaining the court ruled Samsung did not copy the iPad’s design. Today, Apple removed the apology from its U.K. website, but it has yet to publish an altered version removing the four paragraphs the court took issue with....
Apple has contributed to Bono’s (PRODUCT)RED charity for quite sometime by donating a portion of profits from sales of special red editions of iOS devices and accessories. Today, the official PRODUCT(RED) Twitter account (via TheLoop) revealed that Apple’s contributions to fighting AIDS through the charity have now topped $65 million, making it the largest contributor to the charity out of all participating companies. U2 singer Bono, who cofounded the charity back in 2006, commented that “Apple is certainly leading the crew” when it comes to donations from (PRODUCT)RED partners....
This year officially marks the end of an era: as announced in 2017, Adobe will stop supporting the once-ubiquitous Flash by the end of 2020. With the newest release of its Safari Technology Preview browser today, Apple has taken the next step as part of its efforts to end all usage of Flash in Safari. Safari Technology Preview is essentially the beta version of Safari. It’s an experimental version of Safari that allows developers and other users to report bugs and performance improvements before the changes are released to everyone....
Hyundai made a bold statement last week, confirming that it was in talks with Apple about a potential partnership for Apple Car. Shortly thereafter, the company backtracked and published a new statement without a mention of Apple. This is yet another example of Apple’s strict approach to secrecy, and a new report from CNBC offers some more detail on Apple’s strategy. For reference, here is Hyundai’s first statement on Apple Car:...
Back in May of last year, a long list of readers in countries around the world reported having access to Apple’s two-step verification security feature for their Apple ID. Shortly after the news broke, the feature disappeared in many countries signaling it had been launched prematurely. The only officially supported countries listed on Apple’s website included the “U.S., UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.” However, today the feature has appeared in several new countries including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, & Spain....
Update (Aug. 8th): Following our report, Apple has gone ahead and released it!. Interestingly, no Thunderbolt and RAM not upgradable?! Apple is gearing up to launch a new addition to the iMac lineup later this month that appears to be geared towards education/volume customers. The new iMac has less power than the current line of all-in-one Apple desktop computers and also has less storage space. The computer packs a last generation 3....
The new Apple TV embargo has lifted and The Verge’s Nilay Patel notes a couple of interesting tidbits about the new set-top box in his review. Firstly, the surprising lack of Dolby Atmos will apparently be rectified in a future software update (although Apple didn’t share a timeline). Perhaps more shockingly, the native YouTube app for the Apple TV doesn’t support 4K or HDR playback … Apple TV 4K is easily the most expensive smart set-top TV box there is, starting at $179 for the 32 GB model....
