Apple today debuted four new ads for Apple Music via its YouTube channel. The ads, like the three debuted last month, focus on the service’s capability to help listeners to discover new music. The new ads feature musician Leon Bridges, singer songwriter Shamir, and rapper Flying Lotus. Apple also today announced a new partnership with Burberry that will see the company developing an Apple Music channel exclusively featuring British artists....

Earlier today, Apple issued an incredibly strong denial in response to a report from Bloomberg, which alleged that Apple and a handful of other tech companies had some data compromised due to Chinese surveillance chips being found in a Super Micro server. The report noted that these chips were found on Apple’s servers sometime around 2015. Following its earlier statement on the report, Apple has now published a press release on its website detailing what actually happened as it continues to deny the allegations....

John Gruber surprised podcast listeners today by getting Apple’s own Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi on The Talk Show to discuss a variety of topics behind Apple. Since Tim Cook took leadership at Apple, it hasn’t been unheard of for Apple execs to appear on Gruber’s show. The first occurrence was last June when Phil Schiller met John Gruber on stage during WWDC to discuss Apple’s recent announcements and decisions over the past few years....

Apple is not providing specific guidance for Q1 2021 due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, Apple CFO Luca Maestri did provide some broad expectations during a call with investors this afternoon. Maestri emphasized that Apple’s expectations for the fiscal first quarter of 2021 are based on the assumption that the COVID-19 impact on its business will be similar in November and December to what it has been so far in October....

After launching SF Symbols with over 1,000 configurable options back in June at WWDC, Apple expanded the set to over 1,500 symbols for developers at the end of October. In a developer post today, it highlighted the configurable symbol set. Apple the SF Symbols 1.1 update on October 29, but shared in a developer post today about it: To learn more about SF Symbols, check out Apple’s developer support page here....

Apple has recently introduced a new 14-day no questions asked return policy for iTunes, App Store and iBooks purchases in Europe including the UK, Germany, Italy, France, and many other EU countries. Apple’s terms and conditions for the stores previously stated users had the right to withdraw from a transaction “without charge and without giving any reason until delivery of the product has started.” That meant purchases were all but final apart from some exceptions handled by Apple support....

Apple Music offers some “Mix” playlists that are updated weekly with new songs, including Friends Mix, Favorites Mix, and Chill Mix. And today Apple is introducing another one of these playlists for Apple Music subscribers, named “Get Up! Mix”. The company told Engadget that users will find “happy-making, smile-finding, sing-alonging” songs on this playlists. The new “Get Up! Mix” playlist will offer different songs every Monday, which are selected by artificial intelligence algorithms with some help of human curation....

We reported over the weekend that there was some confusion over exactly how Apple’s new Lightning digital AV adapter works and why it lacks the ability to carry a native 1080p signal. One theory is that Apple was using an AirPlay wireless streaming protocol, but we’ve since learned that is not the case. According to a post that purports to be from an anonymous Apple engineer explaining how the cables function, Apple does not use Airplay protocol....

According to a report today out of TechCrunch, Apple has acquired Lattice Data, a company that specializes in artificial intelligence where it relates to so-called “dark data.” The report explains that the deal was closed a few weeks ago, with 20 or so engineers from Lattice Data joining Apple. Apple is believed to have paid somewhere around the price of $200 million for the company, but other specific information about its plans remain unclear....

As Apple rebounds from its first earnings call predicated with a guidance revision in 16 years, many analysts remain skeptical of the company’s ability to regain its trillion-dollar status. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, however, offers a different take, via CNBC. Huberty believes that if Apple successfully launches a so called “media bundle” in 2019, comprised of music, television streaming and a Texture news subscription, the company will see significant growth as the bank currently targets AAPL’s 12 month share price at $211....

Apple is celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a full-page photo and a quote on its homepage. Tim Cook also tweeted another King quote: Sadly and predictably, some Twitter users hijacked the message to reply with complaints about Apple slowing down older iPhones. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the U.S. to mark the birthday of the famous civil rights leader. King advocated non-violent opposition to racial discrimination....

Following Apple’s original founding documents being auctioned for roughly $1.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction on Tuesday, Engadget sat down with Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne who shared a collection of other early documents related to the company. The report noted that Wayne has the documents stored away in a USPS envelope in his office, some of which include hand drawings in pencil for an Apple I casing that was ultimately rejected....

iPad 2 WiFi teardown image courtesy of iFixit An interesting report comes this morning via DigiTimes, the Taiwanese trade publication. Besides naming possible integrated circuit suppliers for iPad 4 – Novatek Microelectronics (LCD driver), Richtek Technology (integrated power management), Capella Microsystems (ambient light sensors) and Integrated Memory Logic (programmable gamma/Vcom buffer solutions) – the publication mentions that Apple is now “more willing” to ship various integrated circuit modules from Taiwan-based IC design houses as a way of reducing iPad’s bill of material (BOM):...

Apple is continuing work on a new kind of hinge design for its devices. The company has been perfecting its work here since 2013 and this week, the European Patent Office published Apple’s latest patent claim additions, which emphasize the usefulness of this flexible hinge design for MacBooks… As outlined by Patently Apple, this patent outlines a flexible hinge design, sometimes referred to by Apple as a “Living Hinge.” This would mean that entire MacBook enclosure could be created “from a single rigid material....

Along with today’s news, the retailer is offering a handful of deals to kick off Jet’s partnership with Apple. Full details below. Walmart has long been an authorized Apple retailer, offering a selection iPhone, iPad and accessories. Late last year we caught wind of Walmart’s plan to roll out MacBook and iMac inventory to retail locations as a part of a broader plan to increase its Apple footprint. Partnering with Apple on a broader scale with Jet would appear to signal this plan is still moving forward....

Apple is continuing its iPhone trade-in push today with a new ad imploring users to “do one last great thing with your iPhone.” Apple’s pitch is that by trading in your iPhone, it can be refurbished and sold to someone else, or recycled in a responsible manner. In the video, Apple explains that when it comes time to upgrade your iPhone, one of the easiest things to do is trade it in....

Tim Cook said in October that it was “just a matter of time” before China overtook the USA as its biggest market, and it seems that time may be arriving sooner than expected – at least as far as the iPhone is concerned. The Financial Times reports that analysts expect tomorrow’s Q1 earnings call to confirm that Apple sold more iPhones in China than in the US. The view was supported by Creative Strategies, which forecast that Apple has sold around 2M more iPhones in China than in the US in the final calendar quarter of 2014 (Apple’s financial Q1) … Analysts at UBS estimate that China accounted for 36 per cent of iPhone shipments in the most recent quarter, compared with 24 per cent for the US....

Popular Apollo for Reddit iOS app was updated today with great new features for Reddit users. The latest version brings crossposting, image flair, translation, fast subreddit selector, and much more to the app. Earlier this year, Apollo for Reddit version 1.8 brought several enhancements to the media viewer, including the option to save and share GIFs, improved video playback, and Haptic Touch previews. And now, version 1.9 makes the app even better with more refinements and new features....

Apple has today announced that it will now support app bundles for Mac apps and free apps with subscription. Announced via its Developer Portal, Apple says developers will be able to “create app bundles for Mac apps or free apps that offer an auto-renewable subscription”. With support for app bundles on macOS, developers can offer a bundle of up to 10 applications, allowing users to purchase them all at once, at discounted rate....

In a quiet over-the-air update today, Apple has just added a new Red Bull TV Channel for Apple TV users. The content is similar to what is offered already through the Red Bull TV website and iOS apps with a selection of action sports, music, and lifestyle related video series including both on-demand and live content. That includes clips, full-length episodes, as well as live coverage of events and more....