German Apple blog Macerkopf notes that Apple TV users in Germany today have been greeted with new content in a server-side update that includes Vevo and NHL channels. Vevo first landed on the Apple TV for US, Canada, and other countries back in August alongside a big update for the platform that also brought content from Disney, the Weather Channel, Smithsonian, and others. The National Hockey League channel, however, has been available in many countries since an Apple TV update back in 2011....

AdAdge has shared a new Apple Watch Series 6 ad focused on the ECG functionality. The ad shows a user taking an ECG in all kinds of environments, highlighting how you no longer need to make an appointment to go to the doctor to get one taken. This ad is part of Apple’s “The Future of Health is on Your Wrist” campaign that they’ve been running highlighting different health features of the watch....

During Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ event today, the company announced the release date of tvOS 14.5. After more than two months of being tested, tvOS 14.5 has a release window for the Apple TV HD, Apple TV 4K, and the second-generation Apple TV 4K. The tvOS 14.5 is bringing support for the latest PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers, which can be used to play games from the tvOS....

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTtQ0l0ukvQ&feature=player_embedded] Today, in a post on his Google+ page, Google software engineer and original Macintosh co-creator Andy Hertzfeld pointed us to a rare commercial created for the first Macintosh in the fall of 1983 by ad agency Chiat-Day. Hertzfeld noted Apple ultimately decided not to air the commercial that featured interviews with members of the Macintosh design team, because “Apple deemed it too self-congratulatory.” It did, however, make its way to dealers as a promotional video at the time....

Attending Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference is quite expensive when you factor in the $1599 ticket on top of travel and hotel expenses. Apple’s WWDC Scholarships program makes it possible for students and new developers to apply for a chance to attend the conference with most expenses covered. This year WWDC is moving from San Francisco to San Jose, and the WWDC Scholarships program has a new application process as well....

Multiple Apple Developer services are partially or completely offline right now, including account management, App Store Connect, and more. Interestingly, this comes right after a scheduled maintenance on some of the Apple Developer services earlier today. Update 5:20 PM PT/8:20 PM ET: Apple says it has fixed the outage in all its online services. According to the System Status page on the Apple Developer website, the following services were affected by the outage:...

We just told you that Apple Senior Vice President Philip Schiller has a Twitter and since then we’ve been snooping around who he follows, and what do we find? AppleIncNews. This Twitter account has been blasting off links to Apple press releases since the iPad’s January and from time-to-time has shot out some interesting teasers. For instance, hours before the Verizon iPad announcement Apple let its almost 60,000 followers know more iPad distribution channels were coming....

Today, a Taiwanese report says that Pegatron is building a CDMA iPhone. That echos an earlier report from the WSJ that said Verizon phones would be coming in September from Pegatron. Just in time. Verizon or even Sprint is good news for Apple. The Android is eating the iPhone’s lunch in the US and you didn’t need the NPD report to know it. Android is on every carrier and comes in all shapes and sizes....

Apple has enabled a new category on the iOS App Store designed to help shoppers find apps for specific retailers. The Shopping category is now rolling out worldwide and includes apps from companies including Apple, Target, eBay. and Groupon. As the inclusion of these apps demostrates, the section can be used to track down not only products, but also deals, coupons, and auctions. Previously such apps were grouped into the Lifestyle section, which wasn’t the best fit as that also included apps with a wide variety of purposes ranging from keeping up with the Kardashians to connected appliance management....

Apple’s Canadian HQ used to be located in a 78,000 square foot building on the outskirts of Toronto, but the company has recently moved into a smaller downtown location as it looks for a tenant to take over its previous headquarters for the country, according to sources close to the situation. It’s unclear if the seemingly smaller location, located at 120 Bremner Boulevard Suite 1600, will be the new Canadian HQ for Apple, but sources say the company is already in the process of selling its old headquarters located at 7495 Birchmount Road in Markham, Ontario through DTZ Property Services....

Apple originally launched its own News app for iOS last June and now the company looks to be expanding the ad offerings of which publishers can take advantage. According to a support document updated recently, Apple will soon start allowing ads that resemble normal articles in the Apple News app (via BI). According to the document, the new format will be “displayed directly in the content feeds, inline with News articles” and carry an appearance nearly identical to that of normal articles....

Apple today has taken the wraps off of a new (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The device was unveiled alongside a new iPad and a new social video editing app. Apple made the announcement in a press release, which contained quotes from Tim Cook and offered up more details on the (RED) initiative. In the press release, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that (RED) gives customers an unprecedented way to contribute to the Global Fund for AIDS research....

As part of a broader push in late night TV advertising, Saturday Night Live is partnering with Apple to create commercial content. According to a report from Variety, Apple has agreed to a deal with SNL for humorous commercial content starring cast members from the show… The report explains that SNL has also inked a deal with Verizon for a similar partnership. This deal will see Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost write a commercial spot for the carrier, while the ad itself will star Kenan Thompson....

Apex Legends has only been been out for less than a month, but players interested in the game could’ve discovered a rough model of its world map 11 months ago. The Apex Legends subreddit uncovered a post made by a user nearly a year ago in the Titanfall subreddit about a rumored battle royale game, complete with the “alleged minimap” of that title. Apex Legends has been a phenomenon in its first month of release....

After expanding the feature to five new countries earlier this month, Apple today has again rolled out CarPlay to new countries. As noted on Apple’s iOS 8 Feature Availability page, CarPlay is now supported in Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, and Sweden. CarPlay is available in 25 countries total with today’s additions. Earlier this month, CarPlay support came to Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Turkey, even though the CarPlay Maps are not available in those countries....

We reported last month that Apple was creating Apple Watch displays inside department stores in London and Paris, adding earlier this month that Tokyo was joining the party. All three stores-within-a-store are now official, with entries on Apple’s website. As we previously noted, the locations are Selfridges in London, Galeries Lafayette in Paris and Isetan Shinjuku in Tokyo. All three are opening on April 10th, the same day Apple Watchs are available for preview and pre-orders in Apple’s own retail stores, and are being given a high-profile presence in each department store … In Selfridges, the Apple Watch display is part of its Wonder Room, a room devoted to watches and jewellery and described by the store as “a unique destination that plays host to the world’s most desirable brands....

Apple’s Craig Federighi announced that with iOS 9, the company aims to provide more stability and performance boost to the mobile operating system while also adding several handy features. Starting with voice assistant, which as the company notes is serving 1 billion requests everyday, it is getting a graphical revamp. Apart from the improvements in the user interface, Siri is also becoming a lot more useful. Called Proactive assistance, Siri is now able to anticipate what a user wants based on location, time, and apps running in the background....

Apple has announced a new version of Siri with many new features in iOS 9. Siri can now show recent photos, create reminders about web pages and other in-app content, detect when you get in your car, and features a new UI inspired by the Apple Watch. The new system can also automatically look up unknown numbers through your email to figure out who is calling, and show information on the lock screen that fits into your daily routine....

Update: We’ve got hundreds of items in our Apple Black Friday Mac/iPhone/iPad accessories and software guide First some don’ts: As for Apple products, we’ve distilled the absolute best deals out there into just a few options. Important considerations include state tax at time of purchase, gift cards vs. actual savings, shipping and rewards. Also, AppleCare discounts. Here’s the quick rundown: Target, B&H and Best Buy in the US have the biggest discounts we’ve seen this year....

Apple has indefinitely closed all 11 of its retail stores in Spain amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak. The measures come on the same day Spain declared a national state of emergency. Sanitation and social distancing measures have been enacted at Apple Stores around the world. In regions with high concentrations of confirmed COVID-19 cases, Apple has opted to close stores altogether. All 17 of Italy’s Apple Stores are currently closed, and stores in China just reopened following extended closures....