Posts

Following reports yesterday that Apple’s suppliers are prepping an HDTV in 32-inch and 37-inch variants for a summer 2012 launch, a new report from DigiTimes today suggested Apple will use its own custom chips, similar to the A5 chips found in iPhone 4S and iPad 2. According to the report, three manufacturers are currently bidding to win contracts to provide components for Apple’s smart TV including: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Siliconware Precision Industries, and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering....

Right on the heels of releasing the free Find My Friends app just moments ago, Apple has also issued the long-rumored AirPort Utility app which lets you manage your AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express and Time Capsule base station right on your iOS device. In fact, the app comes with some pretty advanced features letting you effectively manage your networks and base stations, akin to its desktop sibling. The software is provided as a universal binary which supports both iPhone/iPod touch and the iPad’s bigger canvas....

Apple is looking to beef up its original content offering with around six small-budget movies. Apple has pitched TV+ as the place for original TV shows and movies, but has mostly focused on its TV efforts so far. The New York Post says Apple wants to spend between $5-$30 million on a handful of shows with aspirations for Oscar nominations and awards. This budget is apparently separate to the deal Apple signed with film studio A24 in November....

A new report by the Financial Times suggests that Apple is looking to change the 70/30 revenue share for certain types of App Store apps. The report claims that Apple wants to change the way revenue is distributed between developers and Apple for music, video and news apps. The report is a bit circumspect as the timing of the change does not seem to be related to any particular incident, although potentially Apple is forced into cutting the share due to potential anticompetitive complaints with Apple Music, to be announced next week....

Following the announcement of new speculative execution exploits that target Intel CPU architecture, Apple has posted a new document on its website that explains how customers with computers that are ‘at heightened risk’ of attack can enable full mitigation. Full mitigation is not enabled by default as it is probably an excessive amount of security for the average user, and it comes with big performance penalties. In its tests, Apple recorded up to a 40 percent drop in performance with full mitigation activated....

Update #2: Google’s access to enterprise certificates has been restored. Update: Apple says it is working with Google to “reinstate their enterprise certificates very quickly.” Following its decision to block Facebook from using enterprise certificates yesterday, Apple today has taken similar action against Google. This comes after Google, like Facebook, was found to be using Apple’s enterprise certificates to distribute its data collection app Screenwise. The Verge explains that this means Google’s pre-release versions of apps like Maps, Hangouts, Gmail, and more have stopped functioning....

Apple has seeded the sixth Developer Preview of the upcoming OS X Mavericks. The new preview is available via Software Update in the Mac App Store. This preview comes a few weeks after Developer Preview 5. Preview 5 added iBooks to Mavericks. Also available today for developers are updated Remote Desktop apps, an updated SDK, and a new Safari 6.1 seed for OS X Mountain Lion. Mavericks will be available for the general public this fall....

Apple has released its annual diversity report which is the first since former HR head Denise Young Smith moved to her newly created role as VP of Inclusion and Diversity. Apple highlights key data points and comparisons in the latest report compared to the last three years in an update to its Diversity microsite. The latest data shows a 2% increase in women at Apple globally compared to the first report released in 2014, but men still make up 68% of the company globally which is unchanged from last year....

Apple has released a Mail Update for Mavericks that is designed to resolve many of the bugs that users of the OS X Mavericks Mail application have experienced since launch. The update was released to Apple employees last week, and subsequently to registered Mac Developers earlier this week. The update is in the form of a patch to the Mail update already in Mavericks. Fixes an issue that prevents deleting, moving, and archiving messages for users with custom Gmail settings Addresses an issue that may cause unread counts to be inaccurate Includes additional fixes that improve the compatibility and stability of Mail Instructions on installing the update, below:...

This morning, Apple has released iOS 7.0.4 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The update is a bug fix release with improvements. Apple notes that the update includes a fix for FaceTime calls that could fail for some users. The update is available over-the-air via the Software Update section in the iOS Settings app… Apple has also released iOS 6.1.5 for fourth-generation iPod touch users. That iOS 6 update is designed to fix the FaceTime bug on the non-iOS 7 capable iPod touch....

Apple has pushed a minor iTunes update this evening, which comes on the heels of the release of macOS 10.13.2 to the public. The update brings the application to version 12.7.2… The update doesn’t bring any notable new features, but Apple says it should include app and performance improvements, which are always appreciated when we’re talking about iTunes: Apple originally released iTunes 12.7 earlier this year, bringing major changes to the content types offered in the app....

Apple has seeded developer and public testers with the sixth beta for macOS 11.3. Version 11.3 features new sorting options in Reminders, expanded support for Xbox/PlayStation controllers, autoplay in Apple Music, mentions of the first Apple Silicon Macs, and more. macOS 11.3 beta 6 is available now and the OTA should be showing up in System Preferences > Software Update if you’re enrolled in the developer or public beta program (keep checking back if you don’t see it yet)....

Update: The second developer betas of iOS 13.4.5, iPadOS 13.4.5, watchOS 6.2.5, and tvOS 13.4.5 are now available. Apple has yet to release a new update for macOS Catalina 10.15.5 beta. Apple today is releasing the second developer beta of iOS 13.4.5. The update focuses on bug fixes, performance improvements, and it also brings some new features to Apple Music subscribers. In addition to iOS 13.4.5, Apple has also released iPadOS 13....

A new report from CNBC today dives into the differing usage of mobile payment platforms such as Apple Pay around the world. The report explains that while mobile payment usage is growing in many countries, adoption in the United States continues to lag. One of the drivers of mobile payment adoption by consumers in other countries is the fact the main alternative is cash. Gerard du Toit, partner and head of Bain’s banking and payments financial services practice in North America, explained that economies in countries such as China and India have long been heavily reliant on cash....

After launching Big Sur to the public last week with macOS 11.0.1, Apple has released the 11.1 beta to developers. Apple made the macOS Big Sur 11.1 beta available via its Developer website and should arrive as an over-the-air update for those already enrolled in the beta. The macOS 11.1 beta just includes generic release notes, but it should come with bug fixes and performance improvements that many will be waiting for before upgrading to the major new Mac release (or since upgrading)....

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Apple had considered setting up an in-house medical service that would offer primary care clinics with doctors employed by Apple. The Journal says the company was exploring how the Apple Watch could be used to improve healthcare. This project was envisioned in 2016 but has seemingly been put on pause, partly because Apple’s dogfooding of a similar project for its own employees saw limited use....

Following a rollout to the Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce earlier this month, Apple Pay is now coming to the other three big banks in Canada. With this rollout, Apple Pay is now supported by all of Canada’s “big five banks.” As reported by The Toronto Star, BMO, TD and Scotiabank customers will be able to use Apple starting tomorrow, June 1st. More specifically, Apple Pay will work with Visa, MasterCard, and Interac at TD Canada Trust, Visa and Interac at Scotiabank, and Interac and MasterCard at BMO....

Having filed a prospectus today with the SEC, Apple plans to offer around $5 billion in bonds, following a 2013 bond offering of $17 billion, and a 2014 offering of $12 billion. While Apple’s corporate coffers stand at over $178 billion after its most recent record-breaking quarter, even thriving companies sometimes use bond offerings to fund projects, lessening tax consequences in the process. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs put together the offering, which Apple says will be used towards...

Apple plans to start selling the 12.9-inch iPad Pro on Wednesday, November 11th via both its physical retail and online stores, according to multiple sources. Apple previously only said that the large tablet would become available during the month of November, a couple of months after the introduction in early September. The iPad Pro’s marquee accessories, the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, will also become available for purchase on November 11th....

Apple today previewed iOS 11.3 with a whole host of new features, including a new set of Animoji, an ARKit update, and the ability to view personal health records directly in the Health app. iOS 11.3 will be available to customers in the spring. A developer beta of iOS 11.3 will be released today. iOS 11.3 will also include the aforementioned battery health statistics features. Users will be able to disable the throttling in Settings → Battery, but may see more unexpected shutdowns in exchange for full performance....