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Apple is re-launching the iPhone 6, originally released in 2014, in a 32 GB gold configuration. This model is technically ‘new’ as Apple never sold the iPhone 6 in a 32 GB SKU before; it debuted with 16/64/128 GB options. The 32 GB iPhone 6 is going on sale at select carriers in Asia as a low-end model; the device is not sold by Apple retail. The device is launching on Taiwan Mobile on March 10 and has been quietly available in China since late February …...

[UPDATE 12/20: iOS 11.2.5 and tvOS 11.2.5 public beta 2 are now available.] Apple has released new beta versions of iOS, watchOS, and tvOS for developers to test. iOS 11.2.5, watchOS 4.2.2, and tvOS 11.2.5 beta 2 are all available now. We’ll update to the latest versions and note any changes below. The latest betas follow the official release of iOS 11.2.1 and tvOS 11.2.1 for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV....

After the WWDC 2021 keynote, Apple is now releasing the first beta of watchOS 8 to all developers. watchOS 8 was announced today with some new features that will be available to all users starting this fall. Today’s build is 19R5266q. Public beta testers will be able to try watchOS 8 starting in July. As for now, only developers can preview watchOS 8, which brings an enhanced version of the Breathe app, now called Mindfulness....

Two days after releasing the final version of iOS 12.2 for all users, Apple is today starting a new beta cycle with the release of iOS 12.3 beta 1. The update should become available at the top of the hour for developers enrolled in the Apple Developer Program with the beta profile installed. As usual with iOS beta cycles, Apple is probably going to start the public beta for iOS 12....

While Apple’s orders for the A9 chip in the iPhone 6s/Plus were split between the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung, we heard back in February that TSMC was to be the sole supplier of the A10 chip in the iPhone 7. A new report from Korea claims that the same is true of the A11 chip destined for next year’s iPhone. The report appears in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News, via Digitimes....

With rumors flying about an Apple television subscription service in the works for release this year, new details have started to emerge about what kinds of deals the tech company will make with its content partners. The NY Post says that these deals will involve Apple turning over certain data about its users to programmers to help solidify its agreements. Apple is reportedly giving TV partners a lot of leeway, allowing each network to decide how to handle areas like advertising on the service....

Apple released the iOS 8.1.3 software update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users today. The update is available over-the-air through the Software Update section of the Settings app. The update includes the usual bug fixes and performances improvements, and notably claims to reduce the amount of free storage required to perform the update. Apple first released iOS 8 in September near the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and iOS 8....

One of the key features Apple touts with its new Fitness+ workouts service is deep integration with Apple Music. One of the ways in which this is now manifesting itself is with a dedicated category in the Music app, allowing users to quickly view playlists from Fitness+ workouts. Apple has a new Fitness category in the Apple Music service, under which you’ll find a variety of playlists dedicated to Apple Fitness+....

As reported by TechCrunch, Apple is pushing HomeKit hard at CES this year. It coordinated with manufacturers to demo key new HomeKit smart home announcements to the tech press .., Apple HomeKit has been criticized in the past for having a relatively small ecosystem of compatible accessories. In 2017, Apple made it easier for accessory makers to get HomeKit accessories approved, and the fruits of that labor are finally paying off....

Right after tvOS 13.4.8 beta, Apple has just released the first watchOS 6.2.8 beta version to developers. The update comes two days after watchOS 6.2.6 was released to the public, and as with tvOS, Apple has skipped version 6.2.7 for some unknown reason. We don’t know what’s new in watchOS 6.2.8 yet, but Apple is likely to be working on more bug fixes and general improvements to the Apple Watch operating system....

Thirteen days after the third developer beta, Apple has released iOS 11.3 beta 4 for registered developers to test on iPhone and iPad. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below. Beta 1 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 Messages in iCloud New privacy page during set up and a new Privacy icon in Settings (gray becomes blue) Splash screen for Messages in the Cloud, backup can be disabled in Settings iBooks is now just Books App Store lists version number and update size on Updates screen App Store following text size Hello, Feedback app… Apple TV shows up in Home app with tvOS 11....

With the success of the 2020 M1 MacBook Air, Apple is readying itself to launch a revamped MacBook Air with an even faster chip. According to Bloomberg, a redesigned MacBook Pro is expected to debut as soon as early this summer “followed by a revamped MacBook Air.” While the big news with the 2020 MacBook Air was the M1 chip, the company didn’t change its design at all. This time, Apple could bring, alongside an M1X or M2 chip, a better FaceTime HD camera, as it did with the 24-inch iMac, add MagSafe support, as it’s rumored to do with the new MacBook Pro and more internal customizations....

Apple is developing a new version of its popular Powerbeats earbuds with support for Hey Siri. Evidence found within iOS 13.3, which was released to the public today, indicates that “Powerbeats4” are likely coming soon. Strings found within iOS 13.3 explain that you will be able to talk to Siri using the Powerbeats4 by simply saying the “Hey Siri” trigger phrase. This also means that they will likely use Apple’s proprietary H1 chip for connectivity....

Apple had published its latest Transparency Report on Government Information Requests, covering the second half of last year. It revealed that it received over 30,000 requests last year, and complied with up to 82% of them. It is not allowed to specify the exact number of National Security Requests, but says they fell into the 1250-1499 band. Apple breaks down the numbers by country, region and type of request. It says that most fall into what it terms device requests....

Apple has released the third tvOS 11.4 developer beta for testing on Apple TV 4 and Apple TV 4K. tvOS 11.4 turns Apple TV into an AirPlay 2 speaker which supports multi-room AirPlay from iOS. The latest developer beta of tvOS follows the official release of tvOS 11.3 to all customers last month. The new version added support for frame rate matching to older Apple TVs and Apple Music highlighted new music video playlists....

Update: iOS 13.2 beta 3, iPadOS 13.2 beta 3, watchOS 6.1 beta 4, and tvOS 13.2 beta 3 are now available. iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2 public beta 3 also now available Apple today is releasing the third developer beta of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2. Today’s release comes just under a week after the release of the second iOS 13.2 beta with Deep Fusion camera technology, Siri changes, and more....

USA Technologies announced today that Apple Pay is getting support for its MORE loyalty card and payroll deduct program that is accepted at more than 300,000 vending machines across the US. The company is demoing the new integration this week at CES 2017. The company has also redesigned the UX for its machines to better promote Apple Pay and make the experience easier for iPhone and Apple Watch users: Following the integration, unattended operators will be able to offer an enhanced experience to their customers using Apple Pay, which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay that’s fast and convenient....

As Apple continues its struggle to establish a broader retail presence in India, the company may soon establish several large “flagship outlets” to supplement slowing sales, according to a new report from The Economic Times. India has long been an important and untapped growth market for Apple even as sales continue to fall. Last month, it was suggested that Apple controlled just 1 percent of smartphone marketshare in the country. Sluggish sales have been partially blamed on unaffordable and fluctuating iPhone prices, often set arbitrarily by Indian wholesalers....

Following the official announcement of Apple’s Q1 2021 earnings results on Wednesday, Canalys shared today a new research that reveals the company has registered the best performance in iPad sales since the fourth quarter of 2014. Moreover, Apple was the second-largest seller of PCs and tablets during Q4 2020. According to the research, Apple shipped 26.4 million Macs and iPads during the fourth quarter of 2020 and a total of 81....

Update: Apple issued a press release on the matter, below the fold. Apple released version 3.1 of iBooks today on the App Store and with it comes hundreds of thousands of Japanese books to the iBookstore in Japan. Among the local content on the iBookstore in Japan is light novels and manga, while Apple also noted that it has made “a number of improvements for reading Asian language books.” AllThingsD reported in January that Apple was in talks with Japanese publishers to work out deals for the iBookstore, which had lacked local Japanese content since it first launched in 2010....