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[Update: Now available.] Apple is releasing its fourth iOS 12.1.3 developer beta later today, only 3 days after releasing its third beta. The release notes only mention bug fixes, but we’ll update if anything interesting can be found on the new beta. iOS 12 has seen numerous updates such as Group FaceTime, Dual SIM support, and other notable changes as part of iOS 12.1 and iOS 12.1.1. We’ll keep this post updated with new details and findings as we discover what’s new in the latest beta....

Apple apparently showed interest in acquiring the music rap battle live-streaming website Verzuz. Bloomberg says Apple proposed an acquisition price, but the platform was ultimately acquired by Triller for a higher amount. Presumably, the acquisition would have fed into Apple Music or Apple TV content. For a time last year, Apple hosted Verzuz livestreams through the Apple Music app. The Verzuz livestreams over Apple Music ended when the Triller deal was announced....

Apple, Google, Microsoft and 44 other organisations and security experts have signed an open letter condemning a proposal to secretly add law enforcement organizations to encrypted chats and calls. The proposal by GCHQ – Britain’s equivalent of the NSA – seeks to provide an encryption workaround that would breach privacy and security in apps like Messages, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Signal … The proposed workaround, aka ‘ghost proposal’ So far, companies like Apple have been able to tell law enforcement that it has no way to provide them with access to Messages chats and FaceTime calls because the services use end-to-end encryption....

Just days after releasing iOS 6.1 to the public, Apple has released iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 to developers for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The download is available via Apple’s developer center for registered developers. This beta, according to Apple, has major enhancements to Maps for Japan: iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 includes the following improvements to Maps for Japan: Improved pronunciation of roads during turn-by-turn navigation Optimized directions to more strongly prefer highways over narrower roads Now indicates upcoming toll roads during turn-by-turn navigation Added labels for junctions, interchanges, on-ramps, off-ramps, and intersections Added indicators for transit station buildings, subway lines, and traffic lights Updated freeway color to green Updated icons for some location categories including fire stations, hospitals, and post offices Added 3D buildings including Tokyo Station, Japan Imperial Palace, and Tokyo Tower It also seems that this beta has no expiration date, unlike previous iOS betas:...

Apple has released OS X 10.9.1 for Mac via the Mac App Store today. The update includes a number of Mail related fixes including improved support for Gmail as well as numerous bug fixes. The update also fixes a VoiceOver issue that prevented sentences with emoji characters from being read… Apple previously released a Gmail fix in early November after issues with Mavericks created instability. Apple first issued OS X 10....

Apple has released the second iOS 11.3 public beta loaded with new features for iPhone and iPad. Apple originally previewed several new features prior to the first developer beta: 4 new Animoji on iPhone X: Lion, Skull, Bear, and Dragon ARKit 1.5 with support for vertical surfaces like walls, irregular shaped surfaces like circular tables, support for auto-focus, and 50% higher resolution Business Chat for iMessage in beta with Discover, Hilton, Lowe’s and Wells Fargo on board Health Records in Health app automatically updated from select partners More prominent music video features in Apple Music HomeKit software authentication without chip certification Advanced Mobile Location for sending your location to emergency services when calling from iPhone Other new features include:...

Alongside iOS 9.3.2, Apple has also released a bug fix update for Apple Watch in the form of watchOS 2.2.1. The release notes indicate the OTA update (weighing in at around 30 MB) includes various bug fixes and security updates. Given the version number, we aren’t expecting any new features but we’ll update if we see anything new. Check the Apple Watch app on the iPhone to update to the latest firmware....

Apple seems to be simplifying its range of accessories for its older iPhones ahead of the iPhone 6 launch on Friday. As shown above, Apple has removed every color of iPhone 5s case apart from black from its website. Although it is strange for Apple to reduce its potential for accessory sales (given that it still sells the iPhone 5s for only $99 on contract and many 5/5s models are out in the world), it is seemingly focusing on its new range of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus leather and silicone cases instead....

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced this afternoon during the company’s earnings call that Apple Pay will be rolling out to Germany later this year. Apple Pay, the company’s mobile payment solution, has been rapidly rolling out to more countries as of late and will now be coming to Germany later this year. Apple didn’t specify a date, but those who live in Germany should expect support for the service relatively soon....

Apple has made several improvements to its Podcasts app and service over the last year, and while features may still lack in comparison to popular third-party apps like Overcast, it’s hard to deny the sheer size of Apple’s podcast platform. Now, Fast Company reports that Apple Podcasts has passed a notable milestone in downloads and streams… The report says that in March of 2018, Apple Podcasts hit 50 billion all-time episode downloads and streams....

Apple last night added a new webpage focusing on the enterprise features offered in iOS 7, covering everything from configuration to data security. Apple dominates the enterprise market according to a report last year revealing that iOS last year accounted for 74 percent of business smartphone activations and a staggering 97 percent of business tablet activations. In total, iOS devices took six of the ten top slots in the enterprise league tables....

Updated with Widiba, below Customers of the Spanish bank CaixaBank can now use Apple Pay, the bank confirming in a blog post that the service is already live. As you’d expect, this includes its mobile banking brand, ImaginBank … CaixaBank is one of Spain’s largest banks, with more than 6,000 branches serving 13.2 million customers. It’s the third company to offer Apple Pay support for its payment cards, after Santander and American Express....

Following Apple’s announcement of a new podcast subscription offering yesterday, the Apple Podcasts directory appears to be having some issues. In other cases, the shows are still being listed in the directory but their feed URL is missing in the catalog. This means the API isn’t reporting where to find the actual podcast episodes. This is important as the large ecosystem of third-party podcast clients relies on the iTunes Store API for their data....

Apple is pushing yet another silent update to macOS to resolve the Mac webcam hijack vulnerability in RingCentral and Zhumu. These two apps are powered by Zoom, and it was discovered this week that they are also susceptible to the same web server vulnerability as Zoom. When the Zoom vulnerability was first discovered last week, Apple pushed a silent macOS update to remove the web server. Now, The Verge reports that Apple has deployed another silent security update to remove web servers installed by RingCentral and Zhumu....

Apple has released the fifth watchOS 3.1.1 beta for developers testing the pre-release software update for Apple Watch. watchOS 3.1.1 includes support for new Unicode 9.0 emoji as well as the ability to change skin tones when picking certain emoji characters. watchOS 3.1.1 is a minor release that follows the major release of watchOS 3.0 in September. watchOS 3 is a major speed boost to Apple Watch with a simplified navigation structure and new, faster apps....

With wireless charging rumored to be included in the new iPhone 8 later this year, Reuters has reported new details about the scope of Apple’s focus on wireless charging at the company. Apple already uses inductive wireless charging on the Apple Watch, but Reuters says there are multiple teams at Apple working on the technology. We first learned that Apple had joined the Wireless Power Consortium earlier this month, which Apple later confirmed in a boilerplate statement:...

Apple has curated a new App Store section today highlighting Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which is observed on May 21st each year with the goal of “raising the profile of and introducing the topic of digital (web, software, mobile app/device etc.) accessibility and people with different disabilities to the broadest audience possible.” The featured App Store section includes 15 apps for iPhone, iPad, and even Apple Watch including Proloquo2Go and Proloquo4Text augmentative and alternative communication apps, Instapaper which features a font that makes text easier for dyslexic readers, and other apps with support for Apple’s accessibility features including the popular Workflow and djay 2 apps among several others....

Update: The first public betas of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15 are now available. The macOS Monterey public beta is listed as “coming soon.” Apple will release the first public betas of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 today, according to Rene Ritchie, allowing anyone to try out the new features coming to iPhone later this year in beta form. iOS 15 brings new features to FaceTime, upgrades to notifications, Focus, SharePlay, and much more....

[Update: The public beta version is also available for testers.] Apple has released macOS High Sierra beta 6 for developer testing. macOS High Sierra includes the new Apple File System, HEVC video playback, Metal 2, Photos and Safari upgrades, and more. macOS High Sierra beta 6 is currently only available to registered developers for now. Apple typically holds new public beta versions for a few days for major updates. We’ll update with any changes discovered in the latest macOS High Sierra release below....

Apple this week has shared the framework for Turi Create on GitHub. This framework, Apple says, should make it easier for developers to build machine learning models. Turi Create, as Apple describes it, is designed for people who aren’t necessarily experts when it comes to machine learning: Apple explains that Turi Create is intended to be simple to use with a visual interface, flexible, and fast. Furthermore, it’s ready to be deployed for use in iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS....