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Apple early this morning shared a new pair of videos on its YouTube channel highlighting the effect that technology has on those with special needs. As this month is Autism Acceptance Month, the video, called “Dillan’s Voice,” features a teenager named Dillan and shows how he uses Apple products to express his thoughts. Dillan is autistic and nonverbal but yet has very complex and powerful thoughts that he is able to express using his iPad with an augmented and alternative communication app....

A day before the official opening, Apple invited local press to tour its latest retail store within the Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates. Headline features include views of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and a 180-feet wide motorized window comprising 18 carbon fiber panels. The store will also provide great views of another Dubai attraction … Each evening, there is a spectacular evening fountain show directly outside the store, and Apple is inviting visitors to use that 18-foot wide opening window to view the display....

The Super Bowl kicks off on February 7th at Levi’s Stadium, in close vicinity to the headquarters of major tech firms including Apple. Usually, the Super Bowl is funded by local government sponsorships. This year, tech companies are (at least partially) footing the bill. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has contributed free products and equipment to the host committee and has explicitly declined any company or product marketing in exchange....

As iOS 14.1 is now available to all users, Apple has just stopped signing iOS 14.0.1. That means users who have updated their devices to iOS 14.1 or iOS 14.2 beta can no longer downgrade to iOS 14.0.1. Before that, Apple also stopped signing iOS 14.0. iOS 14.0 was released on September 16 after almost a three-month beta period. The update brings a major redesign to the home screen with widgets, App Library, and other new features....

The full lineup of TV shows and movies premiering at this year’s SXSW Festival has been announced. The list confirms that multiple Apple TV+ originals will make their debut at the festival, which is slated for March 13 through March 22 in Austin, Texas. Announced in a press release, two Apple TV+ original shows will debut at SXSW this year: “Home” and “Central Park.” The former is a nine-part series focused on architecture around the world....

Apple TV+ today released its latest sizzle reel for the service, advertising what subscribers can expect from the service in the coming months. The featured titles includes returning seasons of Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, See and Truth Be Told. New premium originals include Foundation, Invasion, The Shrink Next Door as well as the Sundance winning film CODA. However, Apple did not give precise release dates for these titles other thank confirming they will be released sometime in 2021....

[Update: Users in Brazil have confirmed to us that they are also seeing the option for Apple Pay Cash.] Ahead of launching in Brazil, which Tim Cook says is coming sometime this year, Apple Pay Cash appears to be rolling out to users in Ireland and Spain. While not officially confirmed, Apple Pay Cash seems to be launching in Spain. We’ve also heard rumblings of the feature working in the U....

There aren’t too many Apple Pay competitors at present. Over on Android, there is Google Pay and Samsung Pay, but Apple could soon see some competition on iPhone from an unlikely source. The European Union is planning to create a digital wallet that would work in all 27 member countries … The Financial Times reports on the initiative. The project began with an attempt to come up with a single standard for digital versions of ID cards....

In addition to reaching Brazil for the first time this week, Apple Pay has also expanded to more banks and credit unions across the United States. Check out the latest new partners below: Canada Island Savings, a division of First West Credit Union Valley First – Enderby, a division of First West Credit Union United States Alliant Bank Century Bank of the Ozarks First Federal Savings Bank of Rochester First Westroads Bank Florida West Coast Credit Union Landmark Community Bank Legacy Bank and Trust Lincoln Savings Bank Michigan Schools & Government Credit Union Noble Credit Union Park Sterling Bank Progressive National Bank Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit Union ServisFirst Bank Springfield State Bank State Bank & Trust Co (Iowa and Georgia now) Stewart’s Federal Credit Union The Bank of Beaver City United Heritage Credit Union Unity One Credit Union Wayne Bank and Trust Company Wells Bank France...

Update: ANZ has an amusing TV ad promoting the launch, embedded below. After expanding to Singapore earlier this year and to a handful of new United States banks and credit unions earlier this month, Apple Pay is now available to ANZ customers in Australia. First reported by EFTM, this rollout makes ANZ the first bank in Australia to add support for Apple Pay following the American Express exclusive launch last year....

Another Apple Pay promotion is being shared with customers via email today. The latest deal looks to entice last minute holiday shopping with a $20 discount on a future Nike purchase after making a purchase of at least $100 with Apple Pay. The requirements to get the $20 coupon code for a future purchase include using Apple Pay to make a purchase in the Nike app of $100 or more....

Apple has quietly introduced an international warranty on iPhones sold within India. Previously, you could only get warranty repairs on phones bought within the country, but you’re now covered wherever it was bought. There are, however, a couple of catches … As Hindustan Times notes, to be eligible, the phones need to be factory unlocked. This means you can’t buy a locked phone in another country and get it unofficially unlocked, a ploy used by quite a few people....

As promised by Eddy Cue earlier in the year, Apple has now raised the limits on iTunes Match and Apple Music library for matched songs from 25,000 to 100,000 songs. Cue had previously announced on Twitter that Apple was aiming for 100k for iOS 9 and just in time for the holidays, that promise has been fulfilled. This means users with larger music libraries can now enjoy the benefits of matching songs in the iTunes Cloud to make them available on all their devices....

Apple today updated Final Cut Pro X to version 10.2.1 with bug fixes and improvements. Apple’s release notes say that this update fixes a bug that would cause Final Cut Pro to quit at launch on some Macs. Support for Panasonic AVCAAM video at 25P and 30P rates has been restored, while Apple also says that dragging through the Timeline view is now more accurate. This 10.2.1 update follows up on the significant 10....

Now that Apple’s third iOS 10 developer beta has had some time to settle, Apple has released the second iOS 10 public beta for non-developers testing the pre-release software. The latest build includes over a dozen changes from the previous release. iOS 10 includes loads of new features in the Messages app, a redesigned Apple Music experience, and much more. Apple’s public beta program is free to participate in unlike its paid developer program....

Apple has released the second developer betas of iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7 today. The company is also rolling out watchOS 7.6 developer beta 2, as well as tv OS 14.7 developer beta 2. Today’s new release of the iOS 14.7 beta 2 is available to developers via an over-the-air update in the Settings app. As usual, if the update does not immediately appear for download, keep checking, as it sometimes takes a few minutes to roll out to all registered developers....

iOS Firmware shows some new firmware in the queue for you folks with relatively new iOS devices. As stated earlier this week, the update fixes iPad 3G connectivity issues as well as iPad Facetime issues as well. We’ll see how it does with battery life. Apple states: This update contains improvements and other bug fixes including: Fixes an issue that occasionally caused blank or frozen video during a FaceTime call Fixes an issue that prevented some international users from connecting to 3G networks on iPad Wi-Fi + 3G Contains the latest security updates Direct links are below....

Following the launch of iOS 13.3, watchOS 6.1.1, and tvOS 13.3, Apple today has released macOS Catalina 10.15.2. This update includes several improvements and bug fixes across the system, including some new features. An interesting feature included in this update is the return of iTunes Remote support, which no longer worked with the new Music and TV apps, and today’s update fixes this problem. Users can update to the latest version through System Preferences on a Mac....

Apple has held talks to invest in a Softbank technology ‘vision’ fund worth a total of $100 billion, according to Dow Jones (via CNBC). President-elect Donald Trump announced last week that Softbank will use about half of that money, around $50 billion, to invest in American businesses. Apple’s cash pile is currently estimated to be worth more than $200 billion, with the majority kept outside of the United States. Apple does not have a history of investing in venture capital funds, so this is an interesting new direction for its capital....

Apple’s 30% cut of all in-app purchases is again making the news. Facebook said that when it tried to help out small businesses who’d lost income due to the coronavirus, Apple refused to waive its 30% commission on sales. Facebook itself takes no cut of the income. The social network then tried including a ‘transparency notice’ advising users that Apple would get 30% of the amount paid, and Apple blocked that …...