Apple is today releasing the second watchOS 6.2.8 beta version to developers, following yesterday’s launch of iOS 13.6 beta 2. Apple has skipped watchOS 6.2.7 for some unknown reason, as the current version available to the public is watchOS 6.2.6. We don’t know what’s new in this update yet, but Apple is likely to be working on more bug fixes and general improvements to the Apple Watch operating system. Compared to watchOS 6....
Supply-chain sources say that Apple is in negotiations with Samsung for lower pricing on the OLED screens the Korean company is making for this year’s iPhones. Apple’s negotiating position appears to have both strengths and weaknesses at present … On the plus side, Apple would be offering Samsung much higher production volumes, says the Digitimes report. On the downside, Apple’s plans to make two rival suppliers bid for the business seems to have hit a snag....
Apple is steadily putting together a catalog of original content behind-the-scenes before it launches its own video streaming service similar to Netflix and Hulu, and the latest series to receive the green light is an unnamed sci-fi space drama. Deadline reports (via Variety) that Ronald D. Moore, who is the showrunner for Outlander on Starz and has worked on Star Trek as well as Battlestar Galactica, will lead the project for Apple....
To celebrate Canada Day and the country’s 150th anniversary taking place July 1st this weekend, Apple today released a new shot on iPhone campaign that includes photos and a short film titled “A Portrait of Canada”. The company worked with three Canadian artists on the project including Humble the Poet, photographer Caitlin Cronenberg and First Nations band A Tribe Called Red, each contributing words, images and music used in the video below....
iOS 8 is scheduled to be released over-the-air next week on September 17th for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch running iOS 7 with a list of new features including iCloud Drive; a new Health app; support for app extensions and third party keyboards; continuity features that bridge iPhone, iPad, and Mac; new Family Sharing functionality; and more. iOS 8 will support iPhone 4S and later, iPad 2/iPad mini and later, and iPod touch 5th generation....
[slideshow] As we reported on a few weeks ago, Apple has just released a brand new free universal iOS app, Podcasts. Apple describes this as as being “the easiest way to discover, subscribe to and play your favorite podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Explore hundreds of thousands of free audio and video podcasts from the Podcasts Catalog, and play the most popular podcasts, organized for you by topic, with the all-new Top Stations feature....
While Apple has released updates for both Lion and Snow Leopard to remove the Flashback malware that is making the rounds, the company had not released a fix for Leopard until today. Apple released a Flashback Removal Security Update for Leopard this afternoon that weighs 1.23MB. Along with removing the Flashback malware, it also disables the Java plug-in in Safari. Apple described the update: Apple also released Security Update 2012-003 for Leopard that “disables versions of Adobe Flash Player that do not include the latest security updates and provides the option to get the current version from Adobe’s website....
According to a report from Reuters, Apple abandoned plans to release an end-to-end encrypted version of iCloud backups after facing complaints from the FBI who told Apple that it would hinder their investigations. The report says that Apple was working on the feature more than two years ago, but it was cancelled after the FBI raised concerns. One employee said “legal killed it, for reasons you can imagine”. End-to-end encryption works by making an encryption key based on factors that are not stored on the server....
No two mediums are better suited to keep us up to date with the latest news around COVID-19 than podcasts and Twitter. Oddly enough, Twitter was created after Apple built the iTunes Podcasts directory and essentially put Odeo out of business. The folks behind Odeo eventually went on to create Twittr, now known as Twitter. Apple has released a dedicated Apple Podcasts feature related to COVID-19 coverage. The news is changing by the hour during this crisis, and podcasts have been my outlet to stay up to date....
Earlier this week a bug was discovered that centered around a string of text that when received via a message would cause your iPhone Springboard to crash and the Messages app to crash continuously. At the time, Apple said it was aware of the bug and working to push an update to fix it. In the meantime however, the company tonight has published an official support document with a few suggestions on how to temporarily work around the issue....
The use of technology in retail has certainly expanded in the last decade. Mobile point of sale systems, in-store Wi-Fi, and Beacon technology have changed the job of retail IT managers. A new independent survey that was commissioned by Jamf shows that retail IT managers strongly prefer Apple technologies over those from Windows or Android. The survey was conducted by Vanson Bourne, and 700 retail IT decision-makers participated. Their findings show that 95% or more of those surveyed believe that mobile technology enables them to better optimize inventory planning and management, personalize the customer experience, and boost employee productivity....
Apple has a history of being one of the most environmentally conscious companies, and it’s about to take those efforts a step further. According to Apple’s 2017 Environment Responsibility Report released today, the company’s latest environmental initiative will see it “stop mining the earth altogether.” Apple says that it will start making devices entirely from recycled materials, including aluminum, copper, tin, and tungsten. The issue, however, is that the company doesn’t know how it’s going to do this yet....
This morning, Apple has released iTunes 11.0.4 with a focus on bug fixes. Notably, according to the release notes, a bug that would force iTunes to quit when syncing moves between wired and wireless states has been fixed. Additionally, a bug that forces users to repeatedly sign-in to the iTunes Store has also been squashed. The update is available via the Mac App Store’s Software Update function. Last month, Apple updated iTunes with a new Mini-Player design and other improved music sorting and playback views....
Apple has released a software update to the current OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 4 seed. The software update is not an entirely new developer preview, but simply an update to the already existing preview. Developers can access this software update via the Mac App Store. Apple has not provided specifics on what this update contains, but we will update on anything that we find. Updates: – Seed size is 1....
Update: Thompson has verified the policy change. We learned yesterday from developer James Thompson that Apple had informed him that the calculator widget for his app PCalc, which had already been approved and even featured by the App Store, would have to remove the widget from the app to remain available for sale. The reason Apple gave, according to Thompson’s tweets, is that “widgets on iOS cannot perform any calculations” which his PCalc calculator widget obviously did, but it seems Apple has since reversed that decision, according to iMore and TechCrunch....
In the real (not torrenting) world, you have to pay to get video content. Whether that is by watching ads on Hulu or paying iTunes $1.99 per episode for TV, the content makers need to get paid. Any other system isn’t going to work in the long run. Apple, we know, is a friend to record labels, movies studios and TV networks in that they set up systems that make payment easy, and for the most part, transparent and fair....
Reno City Council is set to discuss Apple potentially purchasing a half-city block of land for a new facility, according to KRNV. If accepted, this would follow Apple’s decisions in building out a $50 million data center in Reno. In initial city records, Apple was shown to be contemplating leasing the land from the developer. The upcoming discussion introduces an amendment where Apple is now inquiring into purchasing the land instead....
Apple has today shared its 2019 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report that details how its business and suppliers impact people, the planet, and more. Across 2018, Apple says that core labor rules violations dropped and it didn’t find any serious safety or health violations. It also shared that over 17 million supplier employees have now been trained on their rights, and it saw more of its suppliers than ever achieve a high-performing rating....
Apple is rolling out a new firmware update for AirPods Max users. The company does not provide many details on new AirPods Max firmware updates, but this new version brings the over-ear headphones to 3C39. Unfortunately, there are no release notes for AirPods Max firmware updates. This update comes, however, as many users complain of battery drain issues, with and without the included Smart Case. Some users have also reported connectivity issues when using AirPods Max with a Mac....
Apple has released a new version of their iAd Producer software with several enhancements and new features. iAd Producer version 2.1 is faster so loading and saving for iAd Producer files happens more quickly. Additionally, exporting of iAds is quicker and utilizes less device memory. On the new features side of things, iAd Producer 2.1 extends support to the third-generation iPad with the Retina Display, allows for on-device ad debugging, and now supports WebGL assets....
