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Apple has released the fourth macOS 10.12.3 developer beta for testing, the second in a week. New features haven’t been discovered in previous macOS 10.12.3 betas, suggesting the software update is focused on bug fixes and performance improvements. We’ll update with any notable changes below: macOS 10.12.3 first entered developer beta on December 14 and saw a second beta on December 20 before the holiday break. The third macOS 10.12.3 beta released earlier this week still contained bugs for MacBook Pro Touch Bar users so hopefully these have been sorted out in this release....

While these updates aren’t major, Apple has released new versions of several of its own iOS and Mac apps with various performance improvements. If you’ve experienced issues with any of these apps, you may find that your issue has been resolved with these new versions. Included in today’s round of maintenance updates is: Beats Music: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements iTunes Connect: iTunes Connect 3.0.2 includes minor fixes Pages for iOS: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements Numbers for iOS: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements Keynote for iOS: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements Pages for Mac: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements You can find the new version of each app on the App Store and Mac App Store....

The Apple Pay Belarus rollout began today with the announcement of support by BPS-Sberbank. The bank says that both Visa and Mastercard are supported. BPS-Sberbank is the Belarusian arm of PJSC Sberbank, a majority state-owned Russian bank based in Moscow. With a presence in 22 countries, including Sberbank CIB in the US, it is one of the largest banks in Europe and in the top 50 globally. The group has around 137M individual clients and over a million business ones....

Apple unveiled its newest A14 processor with the new iPad Air last month, and early benchmarks have already hinted at its performance. In a new interview with German news outlet Stern, Apple’s vice president of platform architecture Tim Millet offered additional details on the A14 and more. Millet explained in the interview that part of the potential of the A14 process is due to the growing capabilities of machine learning, which is “enabling a whole new class” of applications....

Despite analyst fears that Apple couldn’t match last year’s record holiday quarter sales of $74.6B, the guidance issued by the company indicates that it expects to do so. Analysts had been concerned that last year’s record sales had been driven by pent-up demand for larger-screened iPhones, demand that has now been satisfied. Apple, however, disagrees. The company yesterday issued guidance of $75.5B to $77.5B revenue, which would be a new record....

Alongside updates to iOS and OS X, Apple has released watchOS 2.0.1 with a whole host of changes and bug fixes. As well as including the new emoji character set like Apple’s other operating systems, watchOS 2.0.1 includes bug fixes for poor battery life, stalling software updates, Calendar event syncing and much more. It has also seeded developers with the Gold Master release of tvOS for Apple TV. We’ll update with any changes …...

A new report on Wistron’s plans to expand its manufacturing operations in India says that the company will make iPhone 6s models. Only the iPhone SE is currently made in India. While the report is based on two unconfirmed sources, only one of which is specific, there are two reasons such a move would make sense … The most obvious one is the popularity of the iPhone 6s among those who want a relatively modern iPhone at an affordable price....

The spectacular glass cylinder store in Shanghai’s Pudong district is now their most profitable store. Apple’s retail boss Ron Johnson may be leaving for greener pastures (Apple doesn’t share his enthusiasm), but that won’t affect the company’s aggressive retailing strategy aimed at putting their iconic stores in more countries around the world. Sweden could be next, according to Market.se which quotes local landlords claiming that Apple is planing to open a brand new brick-and-mortar store in Stockholm, Sweden....

Apple has released a new video today to help the millions of new iPhone X users become acquainted with the new features, gestures, and changes on the first Home button-less iPhone. The new guided tour video comes in at a bit over four minutes long and is split into four sections: New gestures, Face ID, Animoji, and Portrait Lighting. Apple stresses in the beginning of the video that these features and changes are “really easy to use....

Apple Pay continues to grow as support at retailers and inside applications expands. A new research note from Bernstein this week highlights that growth, and notes that Apple Pay is one of the biggest long-term competitive threats to PayPal. As detailed by Quartz, Bernstein researchers estimate that Apple Pay currently accounts for around 5% of global card transactions. At its current growth rate, however, Apple Pay is on track to lock-in 10% of global card payments as soon as 2025....

While Apple Pay is the gold standard for safe card transactions, some partner banks are leaving customers vulnerable to fraud via identity theft thanks to weak checks when cards are added to Apple Pay, according to mobile commerce consultants Drop Labs. Some partner banks are consequently seeing fraud rates six times higher than with physical cards. For consumers, Apple Pay is extremely safe, thanks to the use of Touch ID fingerprint verification and single-use code transmission rather than sharing full card details....

Alongside the heap of new software updates today, Apple is now pushing out a minor update to iTunes for both Mac and Windows, likely to support the new software. Apple’s release notes state simply “app and performance improvements”, with no mention of any user facing changes. Today’s update brings the app to version 12.7.5. Nonetheless, it’s an update and is recommended. Aside from iTunes, Apple released iOS 11.4, tvOS 11.4, watchOS 4....

Apple earlier this week seeded macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 beta 2 to developers, and today the company has issued an update to beta 2. The original second beta was labeled 17E150f, but the newer version from today is 17E150g. It’s unclear as to why Apple has pushed out an updated version and there haven’t been any reported major bugs in this release so far. For those who are already on the beta, an update can be found by heading to the Mac App Store....

Apple is reportedly telling its supply chain partners to expect in excess of 100 million orders for the iPhone 12 next year, as reported by Digitimes. For 2019, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro is expected to sell around 80 million units. A jump to 100 million or more would represent a significant increase in sales demand. This level of customer interest is apparently fueled by the 5G ‘super cycle’ although the iPhone 12 is also expected to feature significant hardware upgrades compared to the last couple of years....

Apple currently has only one other Apple Store in New York City outside of Manhattan that is located in Staten Island. Things could change, however, according to a new report from NY Daily News that clamed retail developer Yeheskel Elia is working with Apple to bring an “iconic store” to Queens, New York. The specific location of the store would be Austin Street in Forest Hills. Nothing is official because Elia and Apple are still working on more details....

What is Apple Pay? First introduced in 2014, Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service that’s available to use on multiple devices, including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and select Macs. To use Apple Pay, your bank or issuer must support it and the service must be available in your country. Apple Pay serves various functions, including making payments in stores and within apps, on the web in Safari, and person to person....

Apple has released a new environment focused video today in the same style as those shown off last month celebrating Earth Day. The previously shared videos discussed the company’s environmental efforts and the science behind it all. The comical illustrations featured Apple Execs like Vice President Lisa Jackson. Today’s video re-illustrates LIAM, Apple’s environmental robot that takes apart iPhone components for recycling. Titled “Does my iPhone believe in Reincarnation,” Lisa Jackson, Sarah Chandler, and TJ Tyler of Apple’s Environmental Initiatives explain the goal with the recycling system:...

Apple has today announced that it is removing the Catalogs category, as well as the Educational and Dice subcategory (under Games) from the App Store. Apple has sent out emails to developers who are affected by this change, those that have apps currently listed under the Catalogs category or Dice subcategory. Apps currently listed under the Educational or Dice subcategory of Games will simply be found under the generic Games category, unless developers choose an alternate subcategory....

Going seemingly under the radar, Apple has quietly killed off its the Modern Buckle Apple Watch band entirely. Looking at Apple’s Watch band page now, it is no longer selling the band at all. Apple routinely updates its Apple Watch band lineup, usually for the new season, killing off old colors while introducing new, fresh colors. Sometimes even bringing in a brand new material. However, this is the first time we’ve seen Apple kill off a material entirely....

Apple ranks in at number 5 on the latest Fortune 500, the annual list that ranks US companies by revenue, this time for fiscal year 2014. The company maintains its same position as last year behind Berkshire Hathaway (no. 4), Chevron (no. 3), Exxon Mobil (no. 2), and Wal-Mart Stores (no. 1). While Apple comes in at fifth place for revenue, Fortune notes that it “boasts both the biggest profits of any company on the list ($39....