Shortly after its acquisition of Shazam last year, Apple took the music tagging application ad-free. To follow-up on that change, Apple has now removed nearly all third-party SDKs from the app as well. Apple last week released a small update to the Shazam app on iOS, with the change log indicating that the update included “bug fixes and performance improvements.” AppFigures has now discovered, however, that the update also removed nearly all of the third-party SDKs that the Shazam app was using....

Things had gone very quiet since it was reported back in June that Apple would be part of a consortium bidding to buy Toshiba’s chip-making division. This would help Apple secure NAND chips in a market in which there is strong competition for components. More recently, it had appeared that Western Digital would emerge as the successful bidder. But a new report suggests today that Apple is back in the running, this time without Foxconn …...

Apple is rolling out a new build of the iOS 11 beta 2 update first released last week. The new version includes a higher build version, 15A5304j up from 15A5304i, and appears to be rolling out over-the-air for select devices. For devices seeing the update, the new release is called iOS 11 Developer beta 2 Update 1. Apple has similarly released an updated build of the tvOS 11 beta 2 build....

Today’s best deals include notable iPad discounts during the Best Buy Memorial Day sale, plus a discount on Apple’s iPhones, and AirPods get another price drop. Hit the jump for the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Best Buy Memorial Day sale is live With a larger 10.2-inch display, Apple Pencil support, and compatibility with smart connector accessories, this is arguably one of the most compelling iPads in Apple’s stable currently. Check out the rest of today’s sale here....

[vimeo 98560323 w=800 h=300] The 3D rendering above comes from Technology Integration Services. The company isn’t actually affiliated with Apple, but decided to put together this render of the company’s currently under construction Campus 2 building using publicly available designs. We have already seen a lot of renders straight from Apple of what the building will look like, but the flyover view in the render above gives us some perspective on the surrounding area, the courtyard area in the middle of the building, and the rest of the campus....

9to5Toys and eventually Dealnews recently noticed a $100 price cut for Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air with 1.8GHz i5 and 128GB of storage (now over). It costs $100 more at store.apple.com for the same refurbished unit. An even better eBay deal has emerged today: Apple’s 11.6-inch MacBook Air with 1.8GHz, 4GB SDRAM and 256GB SSD is only $949. It’s certified refurbished unite, while the same refurb model goes for $1,059 on Apple....

Apple’s latest 10.2-inch iPad highlights today’s best deals, plus the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is on sale, alongside NETGEAR’s Wi-Fi 6 Router. Hit the jump for all that and more in today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break. The latest from Apple delivers 10th generation Intel processors, plus a True Tone Retina display, Touch Bar, and Intel Iris graphics. You’ll get up to 10-hours of battery life alongside the popular redesigned Magic Keyboard. There’s also four Thunderbolt 3 ports available, too....

Apple announced a lot of numbers during its fiscal Q1 2015 earnings call today in addition to confirming the Apple Watch will ship in April. Some of Apple’s highlights include numbers on Apple Pay since its launch in October, the 1 billionth iOS device shipping in November, and big growth in China as Apple sells a record 74.4 million iPhones during the quarter. Head below for a roundup of stats and milestones that Apple announced during the call:...

“We will know we have done really great if it feels like a town square,” explained Apple’s SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts in May 2016. Ahrendts was specifically referring to Apple’s flagship Union Square store in San Francisco, but the goal was part of a broader initiative to reimagine the experience of all Apple retail stores. With more people shopping online than ever before, the success of the town square strategy is critical to Apple’s continued relevance in a changing space where other well established brands have struggled....

Apple has released a new beta version of OS X 10.10.2 to developers through the App Store’s software update mechanism and the Mac Developer Center. The update, which has a build number of 14C99d (compared to 14C94b in the previous release) is not yet available to AppleSeed users. The 10.10.2 update will include fixes for common Wi-Fi problems, issues with the built-in Mail app, VoiceOver, and more. With only one week passing between pre-release builds, it seems the patch is getting closer to completion, and could be expected for public release soon....

Apple today shared a new short film that was entirely shot on the iPhone. However, unlike other clips that the company has already promoted, this one was recorded vertically. According to Apple, the 9-minute short film “The Stunt Double” was filmed by Academy Award-winning director Damien Chazelle using an iPhone 11 Pro. Besides the short film, Apple has also shared a behind-the-scenes video entitled “Making Vertical Cinema” with director Damien Chazelle....

International web standards organization W3C last year created the Web Events Working Group to create a standard for the way touchscreen enabled devices interact with web content. The standard is known as the W3C Touch Events Specification. Now, according to Opera browser developer Haavard, Apple is delaying the process by using “invalid or irrelevant patents” to buy time, something the company has apparently done in the past. As part of normal procedures, the W3C requested companies submit patents that may be relevant to the new mobile standard for the third time this year....

According to a new report from Recode, Apple has recently hired one of the top editors from Wired to join its design team. Billy Sorrentino is Wired’s creative director and while the publication confirmed that he will be joining Apple’s design team, it couldn’t offer more details or specifics at this point. At Wired, Sorrentino held the title of Head of Creative, which as Recode notes, is a top-tier position at a design-centric publication such as Wired....

Apple TV+ has ordered a new anthology series entitled Roar starring Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Merritt Wever, and Alison Brie. Apple announced the new series in a press release this morning. Roar will consist of eight half-hour episodes told of a “uniquely female point of view.” The series is based on a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern, and it was created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, the duo behind the hit comedy-drama TV series GLOW....

MusicAlly notes Apple has published an extensive guide for indie artists attempting to get themselves signed up onto the ‘social network for music’, Ping. The move attempts to meet some critics who’ve panned the service for its pro major label slant. The Artist Ping – Guidelines document that gives tips on getting up and running. It includes the inevitable content policies, “no pornography, hate speech, racism, nudity or drug use”....

[Update: The new Neighborhood Beats collection is now available online in the US from Apple as well as Target. For now, Target has limited stock in stores, while most Apple Stores are showing availability for August 31. The new colors are available for the Solo3, Powerbeats3, and Beats Pill+. More info on the new collection on Beats’ website.] Apple has launched new color options for its Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones. The updated palette is reportedly going to be exclusive to Apple Stores, Target, and John Lewis in the UK....

Apple has launched a holiday gift guide microsite today, featuring Apple products and accessories targeted at a wide variety of audiences. The list is separated into six main sections: Gaming, Photography, Music, Fitness, Learning and Travel. Naturally, Apple prominently features its own devices in the recommendations (iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, Beats headphones) alongside third-party accessories and suggested apps. For example, in the Photography category of its gift guide, Apple lists the brand new iPhone 6s as the ‘world’s most popular camera’ alongside silicon cases, the olloClip Active Lens telephoto mount, a Gorillapod tripod as well as apps like Instagram, VSCO and Darkroom....

Following the release of iOS 12.3.2 to iPhone 8 Plus users yesterday, Apple today will release the fourth developer beta of iOS 12.4. The update doesn’t yet include any visible changes for users, but it’s likely laying the groundwork for future changes. Apple is also expected to release the third beta of watchOS 5.3 to developers today. iOS 12.4 likely includes the basis for the new Apple Card launching this summer....

In the two years since Apple released Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature that keeps websites from tracking users around the web, it looks to have almost totally eliminated the ability for advertisers to market to specific demographics. A new report from The Information dives into how Apple’s offensive against ads has made things more difficult for advertisers while aiming for greater user privacy. Executives in the online publishing industry speaking with The Information say that Apple has been “stunningly effective” with its goal of Intelligent Tracking Prevention stopping websites from knowing what users are doing on the web....

Apple has confirmed launch details for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus — unsurprisingly the new phones go on sale Friday at 8 AM. Apple says that customer response to the iPhone 6s has been “incredibly positive” although the company is yet to release concrete preorder figures. Apple also announced that iOS 9 has the fastest rate of adoption of any previous iOS release, with 50% of devices already using iOS 9, which was released last Wednesday....