Apple announced today that the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 will be coming to China “starting this week.” One single model will support all of China’s iPad carriers. The tablets are already available on Apple’s Chinese web store and are expected to ship within about a day. The pricing for the iPad 2 WLAN models comes in at 3,588 RMB for 16GB, 4,288 RMB for 64GB, or 4,988 RMB for 128 GB, while the cellular versions will run for 4,488 RMB for 16GB, 5,188 RMB for 64GB, or 5,888 RMB for 128GB....

In addition to announcing new integration between iOS and Mac OS X with AirDrop support and its new Handoff feature, Apple announced today that it’s bringing SMS and phone calls to the Mac. That means that you can now have your SMS text messages and phone calls from your iPhone arrive as notifications on your Mac. Users will be able to respond to messages and even use the Mac as a speaker phone in order to complete a phone call....

Good ol’ Apple is charging a buck for the final version of FaceTime on the Mac. The reason? Probably to get people into the Mac App Store, get a purchase under their belt and of course get their credit card entered into the system. Oh and it does 720P on supported Intel Macs. Update: Apple says this was a Accounting requirement. More screenies and description below: Description FaceTime for Mac makes it easy to talk, smile and laugh with friends and family on their iPhone 4, iPod touch or Mac....

We’ve independently heard that Apple has plans to begin selling the next-generation iPhone on Friday, October 7th; the date first reported by TiPB. According to our sources, Apple has been weighing between launching the new iPhone on October 7th or October 14th, but with the product’s latest stages of pre-mass-production currently moving along nicely, Apple is presently shooting towards a launch on the 7th. On top of this, unlike with the iPad 2, Apple plans to offer pre-orders for the new iPhone....

After Apple officially discontinued the iMac Pro, the 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display appears to be the next in line to say goodbye. This comes as rumors of an upgrade continue to loom. As first spotted by MacRumors, the 21.5-inch iMac is now only available with 256GB SSD and 1TB Fusion Drive options. Before that, it was possible to choose 512GB and 1TB SSD options as well. Early this month, a person familiar with Apple’s supply chain claimed that the company had stopped producing the 512GB and 1TB SSD configurations of the iMac 4K altogether, and now it’s no longer available on Apple’s website....

In the ongoing controversy over Apple’s refusal of the FBI’s request to assist in unlocking the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman, The New York Times reports Apple engineers could refuse the work necessary even if Apple as a company decides to cooperate with authorities. Citing “more than a half-dozen current and former Apple employees,” the report claims there is already an internal discussion over engineers possibly refusing to do the necessary work or even quitting:...

Apple held an event at its Apple Park headquarters today with Will Smith, Jaden Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith. The conversation was moderated by Apple’s VP of environment, policy, and social initiatives. Tim Cook shared an image of the event on Twitter, saying that “everyone deserves access to quality water.” Jaden Smith founded JUST WATER, an organization focused on bringing clean water to areas in need, such as Flint, Michigan. JUST WATER is touted as being ethically sourced and comes in a 100 percent paper-based bottle....

The C by GE light bulbs are already available and use Bluetooth connectivity to allow for control by the user from the companion C by GE app for iOS and Android. But with Apple HomeKit support, the lights will now be controllable using Siri voice commands and through Apple’s Home app on iOS, in addition to support for Alexa voice commands starting this summer. The support will require a new “C-Reach smart bridge” product to allow the Bluetooth bulbs to connect to Wi-Fi and then HomeKit....

As noted by TechCrunch, Apple has alerted developers in recent documentation that it is in the process of deprecating access to the uniqueidentifier alphanumeric string that is unique to each iOS device. Apple recommends developers create a UDID specific to apps. Obviously, UDIDs were a security threat as marketers and advertisers (and worse) could follow your usage patterns and gather data through different apps. Apple likely will continue to use the UDID for its iAds, GameCenter, subscriptions and other services it offers across iOS devices, or so one industry CEO thinks:

Apple officially expanded the reach of its services offerings today, bringing key content businesses to more countries. The expansion sees the App Store, Apple Arcade, Apple Podcasts, and iCloud launch in 20 new countries. Meanwhile, Apple Music debuts in a total of 72 new markets. Users signing up to the Apple Music free trial in 52 of the new countries will be able to use the service for free for six months, compared to the usual three-month trial offers....

Earlier today, Tim Cook opened Startup Fest in Amsterdam with an interview during which he made several comments about Apple’s ambitious goals in the health industry. Now, a new job listing has surfaced that reveals Apple is looking to hire a high-level lawyer who specializes in health privacy regulations. The job listing was initially posted yesterday (via Business Insider). According to the job listing, Apple is looking for a “privacy counsel” who will focus on HIPAA and how it affects Apple’s health efforts....

Apple has already had quite a busy month, but it’s not over yet. Apple is holding an event on Monday, March 25th at Steve Jobs Theater with the tagline “It’s show time.” The event will focus on Apple’s upcoming services, including Apple News Magazines, original content and streaming video, App Store gaming, and much more. March Apple Event Apple invited the press to its March 25th event earlier this month, using the tagline “It’s show time” on the invite....

As we were expecting, Apple just officially announced its new iPhone 5S live on stage during its event taking place now on the company’s Cupertino campus. The new iPhone 5S largely retains the same glass and aluminum design as Apple’s previous generation iPhone, but it does include upgraded internals, and a new gold color option and fingerprint sensor that we previously reported. The new iPhone 5S comes alongside the announcement of Apple’s much rumored lower-cost, plastic iPhone 5C unveiled during the event earlier today....

From the Toys section: Today only until 4 pm ET or sold out, MacMall.com via eBay Daily Deal offers the Apple iMac Intel Core i3 3.06GHz 21.5″ Desktop, model no. MC508LL/A, for$1,049. With free shipping, that’s the lowest total price we could find by $89 and the best deal we’ve ever seen for this system without rebate hassles. This iMac features an Intel Core i3 3.06GHz dual-core processor, 21.5″ 1920×1080 widescreen LCD, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive, ATI Radeon HD 4670 256MB video card, SuperDrive, Bluetooth 2....

Despite some minor concerns, Apple Arcade is perhaps the iPhone maker’s most value-packed product to date and I expect it to grow significantly in the coming months and years. Priced at just $4.99 per month, or $49.99 per year, the video game subscription service costs about as much as one console game per year. For this, you receive a library of exclusive content with new gaming titles added each week....

Apple retired its One to One customer training program several years ago, and replaced it with its free workshops and Today at Apple program. Now, the company is offering free one-on-one sessions over the phone for training on its Photos app. Spotted by MacRumors, Apple describes the new offering in a support document. While over the phone support for help with photos may sound counter-intuitive, this could be a good option for customers who don’t live near an Apple Store and can’t make it to a Today at Apple session....

Apple has today confirmed its latest acquisition, the purchase of UK-based visual effects company, iKinema. The company’s motion capture tech has been used by customers such as Disney, Fox, and Tencent. Now, Apple may leverage the acquisition to improve its AR offerings, expand on Animoji/Memoji, and more. Reported by The Financial Times, Apple gave its standard, generic response. Recent films that have used iKinema’s motion capture tech include Thor: Ragnarok and Blade Runner: 2049....

Apple has today confirmed that the WWDC keynote will be held at 10 AM PST on June 8th as usual, from the WWDC schedule in the newly-updated app. Apple will announce the next-generation versions of its operating systems, iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 with the potential for some new hardware and some surprises. Apple is expected to unveil its new streaming music service, based off Beats. It has also sent out WWDC keynote invites to select members of the press....

Apple has launched yet another iPhone 6s advert, this time featuring a special celebrity guest: the Cookie Monster. In the ad, named Timer, the blue monster uses hands-free Siri on his iPhone 6s to time (you guessed it) the baking of his cookies. Although hands-free Siri exists on all iPhones, the ability to say ‘Hey Siri’ out loud without having the phone being plugged in to power is exclusive to Apple’s latest handsets: the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus....

Apple today has debuted three new video ads for Apple Music on its YouTube channel. The ads focus on the music available via the streaming service, the service’s Connect social network, and the effect music can have on those who “live and breathe” it. The ads all tout that Apple Music has “All the artists you love and are about to love, all in one place.” The first ad features Kygo, who is a popular Norwegian DJ and record producer....