Apple today has announced that popular pop band Walk The Moon will perform at the annual WWDC Bash on Thursday, June 11th. The 2015 WWDC Bash is set to take place at 6PM at the Yerba Buena Gardens and is open to all WWDC attendees 18 years or older. In 2014, Bastille performed at the WWDC Bash. Vampire Weekend headlined the event in 2013, while Neon Trees performed in 2013....
In another change to its leadership, Apple has hired AstraZeneca’s CIO, David Smoley, for a VP role under its Chief Information Officer, Mary Demby. Reported by Bloomberg, Smoley started at Apple this month after serving as CIO at the UK-based pharmaceutical company for six years. As it turns out, Smoley won’t be working on health-related efforts at Apple, but rather will be working in a VP role under Apple’s current CIO....
A new report from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo potentially provides a lot of information about the Apple Car specs. He reiterates recent reports that Hyundai will be the key manufacturing partner for the Apple Car, but goes on to say that the vehicle will use the company’s electric car chassis known as E-GMP. Hyundai announced the chassis a couple of months ago, with some impressive specs. Range is shown as over 300 miles on a full charge, and fast-charging gets it up to 80% capacity within 18 minutes....
On March 8, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. Apple is joining in by featuring apps, stories, podcasts, songs, and more created by women. Starting with the App Store, Apple is sharing six new stories to celebrate Women’s History Month. The company spoke with the creators of Mini Motorways, an Apple Arcade exclusive game. Chantelle Cole and Niamh Fitzgerald told Apple the best way to solve seemingly intractable problems is to drive down different paths until you find the right one....
As part of its International Womens Day celebrations, Apple has dedicated its homepage to an interactive feature of “women who are changing everything”. On both desktop and mobile, Apple’s homepage has been transformed into a scrollable universe of biographies of influential women in modern culture, from Malala to Greta Gerwig. Below the interactive collage, Apple’s site features sign up links for Today at Apple and its new She Creates series, as well as sections raising awareness for projects like Kode With Klossy and the Malala Fund....
Apple today announced a new iCloud+ subscription service, with one of the tentpole features being a Private Relay technology help obscure a user’s web browsing. In a statement to Reuters, Apple has confirmed that this feature will not be available in select countries, including China. Apple says that Private Relay will not be available in China when it launches to the public later this year. It will also be unavailable in Belarus, Colombia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkmenistan, Uganda, and the Philippines....
Apple has been allowed to retain iPad Mini as a trademark, but must now add small-print to indicate that it is not claiming exclusive rights to the term ‘Mini’ (via MacRumors). The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had originally refused Apple the trademark on the basis that the term ‘Mini’ was simply descriptive, but this objection has now been withdrawn on condition that the company adds a disclaimer. The disclaimer requirement may be an attempt to bring some sanity back to trademark wars: while Apple already holds the trademark to iPad, it’s unclear what benefit there is in trademarking ‘iPad mini’ specifically....
Apple, meanwhile, is seemingly the only major streaming service not planning to appeal. Under this ruling, streaming services will be required to pay songwriters and publishers 15.1 percent of revenue, up from 10.5 percent. According to the report, Apple will not appeal the ruling, making it the only major streaming service to take such a stance: Apple’s stance on the issue has earned it praise from some in the songwriting industry....
Time Magazine is out with its annual list of the “100 Most Influential Companies.” This year’s rankings have a variety of categories from “pioneers,” “innovators,” “disruptors,” to “leaders.” And Apple has earned a spot on the list for “doubling down on defining products.” Time features Apple under the “leaders” category for the new 100 Most Influential Companies list and highlights its record-breaking holiday 2020 quarter as well as strong Mac and iPad sales during the pandemic....
At its last earnings call, Apple announced that it is expanding its capital return program by more than 50%. This means the company is now looking to repurchase over $140 billion worth of shares and a larger dividend for shareholders. To fund this activity however, it is cheaper for the company to sell domestic company debt than repatriate its ever-increasing cash hoard that is ‘trapped’ overseas. Therefore, Apple has today announced it will issue a new 7-part bond to raise the funds....
As part of the Apple event today, the company unveiled the new lineup of iPad Pro tablets. The 2021 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro feature the 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU M1 chip, and a new Thunderbolt connector (over the same USB-C port). The larger 12.9-inch model also sports a new mini-LED screen, which Apple calls ‘Liquid Retina XDR’. For the first time, iPad Pro is also available in a 2TB storage option and up to 16 GB RAM....
Apple has set its next Apple Watch Activity for August 8th. This time around, the challenge will be exclusive to China, with Apple celebrating the country’s “National Fitness Day.” China has celebrated National Fitness Day every year since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This marks the second year in a row in which Apple has gotten involved with an Apple Watch Activity Challenge. This is a rare instance where Activity Challenges are geo-locked....
Well, at least the CEO may – or may not – be there – he may instead choose to explore the sights and sounds of Paris. Or maybe he popped out for a meal with Mick Jagger, who was in the same meeting yesterday. What was the meeting about? Well, that’s pretty important, really. Ostensibly Jobs, Jagger, Apple’s iTunes head, Eddie Cue, and representatives from EMI, eBay, Fiat, UK consumer association, Which?...
Apple announced this morning that it is closing all retail stores and corporate offices in mainland China as a precautionary measure due to current coronavirus situation. In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple said its thoughts are with those affected and its decision to temporarily close stores is based on the latest advice from health experts. Whilst all retail stores will now be temporarily closed, Apple’s online store will remain operational so Chinese Apple customers can continue to buy online — and contact online support — in the meantime....
Apple offers a wide variety of digital content for those looking to find their Christmas spirit this holiday season. Classic flicks adorn iTunes and the App store as digital downloads, audio books, albums and applications, and each media selection gives global users the opportunity to find good cheer… [vodpod id=Groupvideo.10664228&w=650&h=420&fv=] Frank Capra directed “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and it stars James Stewart and Donna Reed. According to Internet Movie Database, the movie is about an angel who helps a frustrated businessperson discover life’s joys by showing him an alternate reality without his existence during Christmastime....
Apple is significantly extending the amount of time customers have to add AppleCare coverage to protect their iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and other hardware products. Bloomberg reports that Apple has informed retail and customer support employees that customers in the US and Canada now have up to one year to buy AppleCare+ coverage. Traditionally, Apple has given users 60 days from their purchase date to add AppleCare to their hardware product....
Apple has updated its online store with a quicker, same-day delivery option on select items ordered in certain zip codes. The new “courier delivery” option, which promises to deliver “on the same day, within four hours”, has been added today as an additional supported faster delivery method for items bought on Apple’s online store. Apple previously only offered guaranteed shipping services with additional fees that promised next day shipping or next day shipping before noon....
Obtained via Buzzfeed, Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent a memo this morning to employees reaffirming its position against the government in the Apple/FBI iPhone backdoor case. He thanks Apple employees and feedback from customers for their public support and says that whilst Apple has no sympathy for terrorists, the data security of hundreds of millions of law-abiding citizens is threatened by the government order. Apple wants the government to withdraw its demands justified by the All Writs Act and encourages an open discussion between law enforcement, technology and privacy experts on privacy issues....
As Apple continues to observe Earth Day this year with its new Tim Cook-narrated “Better” film and detailed environmental report card site, the Cupertino company is issuing Apple-branded reusable water bottles to both corporate and retail employees to promote responsible. In its message to employees, Apple says that 16,420 plastic bottles can be saved through reusable water bottle use, and Apple employees alone can save 22 tons of plastic waste per year (that’s 44,000 pounds) using a reusable water bottle....
Apple TV+ has inked another exclusive deal for a prominent producer. Variety reports that Carmi Zlotnik has signed an exclusive producer deal with Apple TV+, just days after he stepped down from his position at Starz. Zlotnik oversaw the development and production of numerous TV shows during his 10 years at Starz, where he served as the president of programming. Variety recaps some of his work: Prior to his time at Starz, Zlotnik worked as head of operations for global media at IMG and served as an executive at HBO....
