[slideshow] Apple today released a new free Mac App called Configurator which allows you to administer many iOS devices at a time like in a school or business (or my house) setting. At first blush it appears to be much simpler than the Windows/Mac configuration utility. Description follows: Apple Configurator makes it easy for anyone to mass configure and deploy iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in a school, business, or institution....
Apple has released iOS 10.0.3 for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The update includes a bug fix for users who were temporarily experiencing loss of cellular connectivity on new iPhone models. Apple also pushed out an update to its Classroom app that should fix issues with the education app not being able to find other student devices. Today’s iOS 10.0.3 update should resolve some of cell network connectivity issues our readers have been experiencing....
Apple is rolling out the seventh iOS 10.3 beta for developer testing on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The upcoming software update includes Find My AirPods support, CarPlay improvements, Apple’s new filesystem, and more. Apple is also rolling out the seventh macOS 10.12.4 beta for developer testing. The upcoming version of macOS Sierra is the first to bring Night Shift to the Mac. We’ll update and highlight any additional changes discovered below....
Apple has released the tvOS 10.1.1 software update for Apple TV. tvOS 10.1.1 is likely a software update focused on bug fixes and performance improvements. tvOS 10.1 was a feature update that included the new TV app for the first time. Release notes for tvOS 10.1 listed these changes: Apple TV Software Update 10.1 TV app: Discover new content or pick up where you left off in a current show or movie—all in one unified place....
Apple has added a second Apple Watch manufacturer, according to China’s EDN (via Digitimes). The report claims that this is in part to boost total production capacity in the light of ‘an optimistic sales outlook for the device’ … Quanta Computer currently has an exclusive contract to make the Watches. It should be noted that supply chain reports tend to be more reliable on the ‘what’ rather than the ‘why.’ Suppliers would not be privy to Apple’s reasons for the move....
Apple Pay has launched in three more countries in the last month or so, and a local site suggests that the Czech Republic may be joining the list within the next couple of months … SmartMania cites sources saying that it’s coming to Moneta Money Bank soon, with a planned launch date sometime in August. The site says this supports a previous investor note which showed Apple Pay in a schedule document, though that wasn’t a very specific one, simply showing that it listed for sometime in the early Q1 to early Q3 timeframe....
Apple’s 505th retail store will soon open in the Chinese city of Suzhou. While a date and time for the grand opening have not yet been announced, construction at the new space has wrapped just in time for the launch of new iPhone and Apple Watch models set to be announced next week. Located just west of Shanghai, Suzhou is a wealthy and rapidly growing business hub. Apple’s newest store will be nestled at the foot of the Gate to the East, a uniquely arched skyscraper and Suzhou’s tallest building....
Apple has released iOS 11 developer beta 4 for developers on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. iOS 11 brings new features like drag-and-drop and a redesigned multitasking interface for iPad, a new customizable Control Center, and much more. Changes below: iOS 11 beta 4 is currently only available to registered developers for now. Apple typically holds new public beta versions for a few days for major updates. Apple’s previous iOS 11 beta introduced refinements to Notification Center, changes to multitasking on iPad, new TV Provider placeholder listings, and other minor tweaks....
Apple is continuing the beta testing process for macOS 11 Big Sur today with the release of the sixth developer beta. Today’s update continues to refine the macOS 11 Big Sur experience ahead of its public release later this fall. Developers can update to the sixth beta of macOS Big Sur by heading to the System Preferences application, then looking for the Software Update option. If you don’t immediately see macOS Big Sur beta 5 available for download, keep checking as the update is still rolling out and could take a while to hit your Mac....
Apple has released the second developer beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 today, and it includes a major change to how macOS manages MacBook charging. The Battery Health Management feature aims to improve the long-term battery health of a MacBook. Jason Snell at Six Colors first reported on this new feature. The goal of the change is to “reduce the rate of chemical aging of the MacBook’s battery, thereby extending its long-term lifespan,” but without compromising battery life....
A long-running patent dispute between Apple and mobile comms pioneer Ericsson dating has been settled, said the Swedish company, announcing that a license deal for its 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE patents had been reached. The amount Apple agreed to pay for use of the patented technology has not been disclosed, but Reuters cited an estimate in an investment note from a Nordic bank. The two companies have been in dispute since 2012....
In an interesting development, Pitchfork reports that Apple is making music videos for artists in-house. It claims the music videos for Pharrell William’s ‘Freedom’, Drake’s ‘Energy’ and Eminem’s ‘Phenomenal’ were all made by Apple content studios. These artists have certainly helped with the Apple Music launch (with both Pharrell and Drake having their own radio show on Beats 1) so it wouldn’t be out of the question that Apple is ‘compensating’ them with produced music videos....
Apple regularly adds new banks and credit unions to support Apple Pay, but mobile payment adoption by major holdouts is a much slower process. Grocery store chain ALDI, however, announced today that it now accepts Apple Pay at its almost 1700 locations across the United States. Apple Pay lets you securely and conveniently checkout with your iPhone or Apple Watch using your debit or credit card in the Wallet app — avoiding the terrible chip reader and less secure magnetic stripe reader....
Apple will receive the full set of building permits for its ‘spaceship’ campus in Cupertino today, following a formal approval vote by the full council. This final vote was just a rubber-stamping exercise, with the go-ahead effectively granted a month ago. We have a pretty detailed idea of what to expect, thanks to a detailed scale model, project video and series of renders made available by Apple as part of its planning application....
Apple has officially released the the first public beta of watchOS 7 to Apple Watch users today. If you’re an Apple Watch user who is interested in running the watchOS 7 public beta, you can head to Apple’s Beta Software Program website to get started. This year marks the first time that Apple has released a public beta of watchOS. In the past, Apple has reserved watchOS betas purely for developers, even though public betas of its other operating systems were also released to public beta users....
Apple has officially released the iOS 10.3.2 software update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The latest software update focuses on bug fixes and performance and security improvements. For instructions on updating your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest version of iOS, see our tutorial on updating software here. iOS 10.3.2 follows the March release of iOS 10.3 which includes Find My AirPods, CarPlay updates, Apple File System, and more....
Apple has released the iOS 11.1.2 software update for iPhone and iPad. The update includes a fix for unresponsive iPhone X screen at cold temperatures Apple previously promised a fix for the issue last week. Prior to today’s release, Apple shipped iOS 11.1.1 to resolve the notorious auto-correct bug that turned ‘I’ into ‘A [?]’. Apple is also beta testing iOS 11.2 with developers and public beta testers. The upcoming release includes Apple Pay Cash in the United States, AirPlay 2 support, SiriKit for HomePod, and more....
Apple today released the third beta of watchOS 7.5 to developers, following the release of the second beta version on April 30. The update likely comes with more bug fixes and general improvements. Update: Apple also released watchOS 7.5 beta 3 to public beta users as well. We don’t exactly know what is new in watchOS 7.5. Previous beta releases didn’t seem to add any new features. As iOS 14.6 is expected to enable paid podcast subscriptions, there’s a possibility that watchOS 7....
Apple is continuing iOS 12.4 developer and public beta testing with the fifth release coming later today. iOS 12.4 is expected to be the first software update to support Apple Card, the company’s new consumer credit card launching in the US sometime this summer. Bloomberg reported last week thast Apple has expanded internal Apple Card testing to include retail employees, vastly growing the test group beyond corporate staff. Today’s new beta release and the recent test expansion suggest that Apple Card likely isn’t coming in June, but perhaps a launch sometime next month is being planned....
Apple is reportedly in talks with department store Nordstrom to join as a partner for the company’s mobile payment system, as noted by Bank Innovation. As has been previously reportedly, Apple is also in talks with several other retailers about the possibility of accepting iPhone-based payments, and has deals in place with MasterCard and American Express as well as Chinese payment processor UnionPay to support the feature. According to the Bank Innovations report, people familiar with Nordstrom’s systems have confirmed that the company’s current point-of-sale hardware is purchased from Apple and recently received a software update to work “with the latest iPhones....
