Apple has responded to a University of Utah study which criticized the safety of using Siri while driving, stating that it didn’t test the company’s in-car versions, Siri Eyes Free and CarPlay. Of the six speech-recognition systems tested by researchers, Siri was found to be the worst for driver distraction. The study hooked up drivers to heart-rate monitors and other equipment designed to measure the degree of stress experienced by drivers while carrying out a range of voice-command tasks, giving each system a distraction rating from 1 (best) to 5 (worst) … The WSJ reported last month that Siri had the worst score, with a distraction rating of 4....

We’ll be live-blogging Apple’s media event today below, and we’ll be providing text and photo updates from before, during, and after the show. Simultaneously, we’ll be holding a Google Hangout. You can read our expectations for the event, and check back for the start at 1 PM Eastern/ 10 AM Pacific. Live blog starts below: – Tim Cook is out! – Cook welcomes those watching the streams internationally. – Cook moving into updates, talking about the iTunes Festival in London; 20 million people applied for the (free) tickets....

Up until now, iOS developers have been unable to distribute promo codes for in-app purchases, but Apple is now allowing developers to issue in-app purchase promo codes via iTunes Connect. Apple says that developers can give away up to 100 promo codes for each in-app purchase item, up to a maximum of 1,000 codes per app every six months. That means if you have 10 in-app purchase items, you could distribute all 1,000 codes spread across those 10 in-app purchases....

In the latest update to Apple Maps, public transit directions have been added for Ireland. Steve Troughton-Smith wryly commented that the update had arrived just in time for the weather to shut down public transport in the country … A red weather warning was issued for Ireland as the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia hit the country, with gusts of more than 100mph off the coast, and around 120,000 homes without power....

Apple Music has launched a new “Lyrics to Live By” video series following the introduction of a real-time lyrics feature in iOS 13 last week. As detailed by Billboard, the new video series is meant to “celebrate this new frontier in the listening experience.” The “Lyrics to Live By” video page features videos from popular artists talking about the meaning and inspiration behind the lyrics of some of their favorite songs....

Apple today has added seven new cities to its Flyover feature in Maps. Flyover, for those unfamiliar offers high resolution 3D imagery of locations via the Apple Maps app. Apple added 20 new Flyover locations back in April, including the Arches National Park in Utah. In February, the company added nine new cities, including Venice. Today’s new additions can be seen below and bring the total number of Flyover locations to 148....

Ultimately, the stint didn’t last, as Microsoft again overtook Apple for the top spot moments later, closing the day with an $811.3 billion valuation. AAPL has rallied well since its most recent earnings call and a rare guidance revision. While the stock plummeted to a low of about $145 per share following the earnings revision, it has strengthened and is now trading at over $171 per share. Last week, Morgan Stanley predicted that Apple might once again reach a $1 trillion market cap if it successfully launches a “media bundle” in 2019....

The situation arose because the trade-in process was left unresolved, and Apple was following its standard procedures in matters of money owed; this is not anything specific to the Apple Card. When an account is marked as in bad standing, use of Apple ID services is restricted; things like Apple Music or App Store purchases. iCloud is wholly separate and is not disabled at all. You can read Apple’s full statement on the matter after the break....

Usually, at least. If you ask a fine Apple salesperson why, say, an iPad is better than any other tablet, they might ask you whether there are any other tablets. And when you ask them about iPhones, well, they may whip out their own shiny iPhone from their pockets just to show their pride. There are, however, some grumblings in Apple stores these days. On a couple of visits, I – and, indeed, some of my dearest friends – have discovered that masks are slipping....

Although it didn’t make the keynote cut, one of the bigger news items for developers today is that Apple is rolling out a new file system for storage for all its products: Details are scant but developers can access information about the new File System here, but it comes with some significant caveats/limitations which will initially limit its usage: The Apple File System (APFS) is the next-generation file system designed to scale from an Apple Watch to a Mac Pro....

With the launch of the new iPad just hours away, there will be a flood of new iPad owners looking for apps that boast the device’s 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution Retina display. To make it easier, Apple posted a new section on iTunes that lists Retina-ready apps recently updated to take advantage of the new display. The section currently consists of about 24 apps, some of which include “Tweetbot,” “Skitch,” “Infinity Blade II,” and “Sky Gamblers....

As detailed in a new report from Axios, Apple is facing a lawsuit from Michigan-based Omni MedSci over the Apple Watch. The company, a technology started focused on “near-infrared and mid-infrared broadband lasers,” alleges that the heart rate technology in the Apple Watch infringe on its patent… Omni MedSci says that it met with Apple over the course of 2014 through 2016, but that Apple ultimately ceased talks about a potential partnership....

A low-tech scheme where postal workers from Japan Post check-in on how elderly residents are doing is about to go hi-tech with the help of iPads, reports the WSJ. The pilot scheme – one of the fruits of the Apple/IBM partnership – will see Japan Post hand out free iPads to 1,000 older citizens to allow closer and more frequent checks. Data from the iPads will be analyzed by IBM’s Watson computer, reports Nikkei …...

Apple today announced that it is increasing the size limit for apps submitted by developers to the App Store through its iTunes Connect service. Previously limited to 2GB, app packages can now be a maximum of 4GB in size. Apple made the announcement on its website for developers earlier today but some apps have been over the 2GB limit since at least January. Apple noted the change will allow developers to “include more media in your submission and provide a more complete, rich user experience upon installation....

John Ternus, Apple’s SVP of hardware engineering described the M1 Ultra as a “monster of a chip” aimed at users who need “extreme levels of performance”. Apple used what it is describing as UltraFusion to build the M1 Ultra’s architecture, connecting dual chips across more than 10,000 signals for 2.5TB/s memory bandwidth. This was done to provide the performance of a dual-CPU Intel or AMD build with much less power consumption....

Global client PC shipments rose 12 percent year-on-year in Q2 2012, with the new iPad recognized as the primary influence on growth rates, according to the latest data report from Canalys, who treat the iPad as a PC (and with the ability to operate without being tethered and to use external keyboards and monitors and the like, why wouldn’t you?) Apple lead the overall charge, boosted by strong iPad sales, with an estimated 19 percent share of global PC shipments....

Fortnite Season 11 update may have more than expected in store for fans, as a new leak points to it also being the beginning of Fortnite Chapter 2. Major changes were already expected for the battle royale’s next season, which was recently delayed by a week, but the new name may point to even bigger things to come. A change may be just what Fortnite needs after Season 10. The time-travel themed season had plenty of new content and map updates to offer, but it didn’t all sit right with players....

Users have long complained about the lack of free iCloud storage that Apple offers, but now the company appears to be taking one step in the right direction. Now, when users choose to upgrade from the 5GB free tier, they will receive the first month of their new tier for free… As first noted by AppleInsider, the free trial option appears when a user attempts to back up their iOS device to iCloud, but does not have enough storage to do so....

Essentially, the document explains that employees should first run a diagnostics test to see if the customer’s Face ID issues could be resolved with a rear camera repair. If that doesn’t turn out to be the case, the employee should simply perform a whole unit replacement, giving the customer a new phone. While repairing the rear camera to fix Face ID problems may seem counterintuitive, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of it....

In addition to other various announcements this week, Apple has made a noticeable change to the web version of iTunes. Whereas the design was previously incredibly dated and hard to use, the new design is more akin to that of Apple Music and the current iTunes app on Mac and PC. The new iTunes web design features larger images and more information about artists and their music. Apple touts the new design as an “Apple Music Preview,” with several links and buttons to jump directly into iTunes or the Music app on iOS....