No matter if you’re just getting going with Apple Cash and sending and receiving money with iMessage or have been using it for a while, read on for how much you can send and receive with Apple’s person to person payment solution. Apple Cash (previously Apple Pay Cash) is a convenient way to send and receive money as well as make purchases in physical stores, online, and in apps that support Apple Pay....

As planned, iPhone sales have started via China Mobile, the largest carrier in China, today. The official iPhone China Mobile deal, which covers both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, was announced in December. Earlier this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook promoted the event with multiple interviews, calling the partnership a “beginning.” Subsequent reports indicated that millions of iPhones have already been ordered through China Mobile… To celebrate today’s launch, Cook and China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua attended the opening at a China Mobile store....

Apple has updated the Featured Stations in iTunes Radio, likely in preparation for a demo of the service during today’s iPhone launch. The featured stations include Spin the Globe, Trending on Twitter, iTunes Top 100: Pop and the Pepsi-sponsored Pulse #Now. iTunes Radio will be available on all iOS devices, including Apple TV, as well as in iTunes on both Macs and PCs, as a free ad-supported service. There will be one audio ad every 15 minutes, and one video ad per hour....

The Apple Store cut prices on three of its five factory-refurbished Apple iPad Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/3G Tablets. Up to a $50 drop applies. With free shipping, it’s the best deal we’ve seen for most of these iPad models. Sales tax is added where applicable. This 0.5″-thick tablet weighs 1.5 lbs. and features an Apple A4 1GHz processor, 9.7″ 1024×768 LCD touchscreen display, 802.11a/n wireless, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, accelerometer, compass, up to 10 hours of battery life, and more....

We can’t be sure that France is the only location to get new 3D Maps data today, so let us know in the comments if you notice any additions in your city. In somewhat related Maps news, TechCrunch has confirmed earlier reports coming from Israeli publication Calcalist that Facebook is currently in discussions with mapping company Waze to acquire the company for close to $1 billion. You might recall that Apple is currently using Waze data in its Maps application and for a brief while was rumored to be in talks to acquire the company....

[UPDATE: It appears that Apple is back to offering a 60-day window for adding AppleCare+. It’s unclear if the 1-year window was a mistake or if Apple decided to revert back to the previous timeframe. Thanks, Don!] Although Apple’s information page for AppleCare+ hasn’t been updated yet, it is now possible to add the AppleCare+ extended coverage to iPhones within a year window, instead of the previous 60 day limit....

Apple’s efforts in India have been well documented thus far, but a new report from Bloomberg outlines how things haven’t been going as well as the company had hoped. The report explains that Apple has lost multiple of its key sales executives over recent weeks… According to Bloomberg, Apple has lost its national sales and distribution chief, the head of its commercial channels and mid-market business, and the head of telecom carrier sales....

Apple Music continues to grow, Billboard reporting that it has now hit 30M paid subscribers – up from 27M in June. But Jimmy Iovine, who heads up the service, thinks what Apple is offering to subscribers isn’t yet good enough. He made the remarks in a new interview … Iovine told Billboard that he thinks the service is heading in the right direction, but that all streaming music services need to do more to ensure their future....

The last we heard, Apple Music had surpassed 38 million subscribers back in March. Now we’re hearing that the service has now surpassed 40 million subscribers. That’s 2 million subscribers in just about a month. But that’s not all, Variety reports that Apple is also shuffling up its Apple Music team as it names Oliver Schusser as the head of its music streaming division. His official role will be leading the Apple Music Worldwide team....

If you’re looking for a pair of headphones with a Lightning connector, either because you want better quality or for future-proofing, there aren’t yet many options out there. Apple has now added one option to its online store – but they’re not cheap at $799.99. The Audeze EL-8 Titanium Closed-Back Headphones are the real deal, however. An audiophile brand whose headphones more typically run into four figures, the EL-8 gets you a 28-bit DAC and the company’s planar magnetic driver – four times larger than most other headphones – borrowed from its high-end LCD Series....

Apple announces Swift Playgrounds for iPad allowing iOS users to play with Swift code on their device for the first time. Apple wants to bring many more people into coding; this is their solution. The app incorporates lessons and challenges — it’s very much a teaching tool. Swift Playgrounds will be available in the App Store this fall; a developer preview is to be released later today. The app is completely free....

Apple appears to be further preparing for the official launch of iTunes Radio, Apple’s Pandora-like streaming music service, by asking streaming radio stations to provide cover art. iTunes Radio is included in the Music app in iOS 7, as seen in our hands-on video. While cover art is already available for many radio stations, some of it is very small and wouldn’t scale well on a Retina iPad. Cover Art...

Apple has today kicked off its latest round of exclusive Apple Pay promos. This time, the promotion offers discounts from six different retailers for the next two weeks, celebrating the back to school shopping season. Apple regularly offers weekly promotions for customers using Apple Pay. From now through August 14th, however, the company is taking things up a notch with six exclusive deals from major retailers: Adidas – 20% off Apple Pay purchases in the adidas app....

Alongside its new MacBook Air in three new colors today, Apple has quietly discontinued the rose gold 12-inch MacBook. In its place, however, the 12-inch MacBook’s standard ‘gold’ color has been updated to match that of the new MacBook Air. The 12-inch MacBook Air was the only Mac to be offered in the rose gold color option, and its removal means that you can no longer buy any Mac in the color shade....

At a time when Apple has just launched its cheapest ever iPhone, and when Phil Schiller caused a few raised eyebrows over what some interpreted as an elitist remark, Apple seems to be aiming for a more egalitarian image where the Apple Watch is concerned. Apple has quietly revamped the Apple Watch section of its website, rendering the Edition almost invisible unless you specifically go looking for it. In addition, we’re hearing reports that Apple’s most expensive Watch is also being removed from some retail store displays …...

Apple appears to be preparing for increased focus on the Chinese market, with more than 200 (mostly) senior job openings appearing on LinkedIn, reports the WSJ. Some of these were added in the past three weeks, many within the last few days. Digitimes reported yesterday on Apple also seeking senior engineers in Taiwan. With the developed market close to saturation point, the BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are key to Apple’s future expansion....

One of the things that really spoils live concerts these days is that half the people there don’t seem to want to watch it live at all – they’d rather watch it through their phone screen, holding the device up and blocking the view of those behind them. This is a problem Apple is seeking to solve in a patent first applied for in 2011 and granted today … The patent describes the camera detecting an infrared signal and interpreting the data....

Update: John Weaver did a deeper dive on this over at Electrek Apple has quietly created an energy subsidiary, ‘Apple Energy’ LLC, registered in Delaware but run from its Cupertino headquarters. The company was seemingly formed to allow it to sell excess electricity generated by its solar farms in Cupertino and Nevada, with plans to sell electricity across the whole of the US. Given Apple’s expertise and huge commitment to using renewable energy to power its operations, it is no surprise that it wants to ensure that its solar farms generate sufficient power to meet its needs....

Apple has launched a new web service called Maps Connect that allows small business owners to manage their listings on Apple Maps along with a tool for setting up indoor positioning in select areas. Companies can enter their own listings and verify via a phone call or email address. The iBeacon-powered indoor mapping tool allows businesses to setup interior views of their businesses on Apple Maps to help guide users through their venues....

Apple has its own magnetic charging bracelet for Apple Watch, but it will likely be limited to retail displays to keep devices on retail store floors charged for extended periods of time. In addition, the company has developed a special case capable of storing and charging 10 Apple Watches at once, allowing retail employees to help customers wanting to try the Apple Watch on in-store. An FCC application for the Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Bracelet was recently published online detailing “a stainless steel magnetic charging bracelet which includes an inductive charging coil to charge the Apple Watch....