Apple unveiled a host of China-targeted features for its operating systems during the opening keynote of the Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday, but the full suite of additions are now spotlighted on Apple’s website. A few of the earmarks include integration with China’s Twitter-alternative Sina Weibo, Google-competitor Baidu, and YouTube-like Youku and Tudou. Communicating also got easier with improved input for emoticons and Chinese pinyin, and even Siri can now fully communicate in Chinese....

Apple’s iOS device UDIDs are commonly used for advertising and application user tracking in iOS. Earlier this year, Apple announced that iOS 6 will no longer support UDIDs. Instead, UDIDs will apparently be replaced, for advertisers at least, with a new feature called the Advertising Identifier. This identifier, unlike the UDID, does not tie personal device information to the ID. It is also non-permanent. Apple explains in the iOS 6 settings:...

Shazam’s music recognition feature is already integrated with Apple’s Siri voice assistant. For example, you can invoke Siri on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac (sorry, Apple Watch) and identify playing music by asking what song is playing. Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement....

Although it didn’t get the same attention as iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, tvOS 15 was also announced at WWDC 2021 with some new features for Apple TV users, including support for Spatial Audio with compatible AirPods for the first time. At first, the details were unclear, but now the company has finally explained how the feature will work on tvOS 15. Spatial Audio was first introduced last year with iOS 14 for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max users....

Apple detailed a brand new Mac App Store today during its WWDC keynote with a brand new UI, new APIs, and major apps coming soon. The all-new Mac App Store comes with a dark theme and features a similar design to the refreshed App Store that came with iOS 11. There’s a left side bar that features new sections to find apps: discover, create, work, play, develop. The side bar also holds updates and other categories....

Amid the ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Apple, a Fortnite competitor is receiving some beneficial publicity in the App Store. When you open the App Store today, you’ll see an editorial story promoting PUBG Mobile, a popular competing battle royale. Notably, the App Store featured story on PUBG Mobile comes on the same day as Apple will terminate the Epic Games developer account associated with Fortnite. The story was first spotted on Twitter by Mike Beasley....

Following our report late last month that Apple was preparing to start charging for out-of-warranty online chat support, we’ve been informed that today Apple support has finally flipped the switch on the new feature and started charging customers. While originally planned for earlier this month, Apple has been having difficulties with a new payment system it developed specifically for the online chat feature. Apple is also introducing a new training program for AppleCare employees called “Here to Help” that it hopes will improve the overall AppleCare support experience....

Apple hosted its annual holiday Beer Bash celebration at its 1 Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, California on Friday night, with Frozen star Idina Menzel selected as the night’s entertainment. Tim Cook further took to Twitter to spotlight Apple’s celebration of USMC’s Toys for Tots charity program, which provides holiday toys to impoverished families and children. Apple has regularly hosted a Beer Bash celebration on the first Friday of December. Last year, TV and pop star Gwen Stefani performed at the holiday Beer Bash at the company’s headquarters....

Apple already forces developers to request authorization for all types of location services, and it also provides small indicator icons on iOS to let users know when apps are using location. In iOS 8, Apple is improving its location services for both developers and users by providing users with additional transparency with new location authorization requests. It’s also letting app developers tap into more location data from users with a new feature called “Visit Monitoring”....

A retail research firm is reporting that Apple has improved its return systems for customers, via Reuters. Customers can now get a refund in a less than a week, whereas it used to take about ten days. The report says Apple has transitioned to a new expedited shipping service, which ships returned products back to Apple within three days. In turn, this means customers get their money back faster. The new delivery method was first spotted during the holiday period and now seems to be a permanent measure....

As we all know that screen rotation feature is so useful for smartphones and tablet devices which mostly come in handy while consuming multimedia content or playing games. Meanwhile, most of the users also prefer screen orientation while texting someone or writing anything on mobile, etc. But some of the iPhones can have screen rotation issues as the screen orientation or gyroscope/accelerometer sensor may not work properly. Check out the troubleshooting guide for iPhone 11 Screen Rotation Problem....

Overnight, the Apple Music service has received a server-side upgrade which results in a redesigned ‘Browse’ tab in the Music app for iPhone and iPad. The new look seems to be rolling out slowly, as some readers are reporting they are still seeing the previous design. Previously, the Browse tab was laid out with a single horizontally-scrolling carousel of featured content and then a list of navigation options, which would start deep navigation hierarchies before users of the app would actually see any real content....

Throughout the construction of Apple Park, drone update videos became monthly occurrences. They offered beautiful overhead updates on Apple Park’s construction progress, but as construction wrapped up, Apple started to crack down on drone videos. Today, however, Duncan Sinfield is back with his first Apple Park drone update in six months. One interesting thing to note is that in today’s drone video, there is some sort of mystery stage in the center of the Apple Park spaceship ring....

Disney today announced the latest expansion of its ‘Dream Big Princess’ program, which it hopes will empower young women from around the world to create digital shorts. The latest expansion includes a notable partnership with Apple… Disney announced today that it will give 21 young woman the opportunity to create digital shorts telling the stories of inspiring female role model. Each filmmaker will be paired with an “inspirational interview subject spanning a diverse range of professions” and tasked with capturing the “stories of these incredible individuals” and their advice for achieving success....

Apple has settled a ten-year tax battle with France, agreeing to pay a reported half a billion Euros ($570M) in back tax. The French government had accused Apple of evading or avoiding tax due on sales made in France … The line between tax evasion, which is illegal, and aggressive tax-avoidance, which is legal, can often be a rather blurred one. Tax evasion is subject to prosecution, while no tax is payable in the case of tax avoidance....

Apple is offering fast and free delivery with setup on some of its latest products including iPhone 12. The personalized service is available in select cities when you buy directly on Apple.com or through the Apple Store app. Delivery with Setup is a partnership with Enjoy, the mobile retail store startup founded by former Apple SVP Ron Johnson. When you make a purchase through Apple and select Delivery with Setup during checkout, you’ll have the option of scheduling a next-day appointment with an Expert from Enjoy....

An Apple press release published today announced the impending availability of the iPad on Japan’s NTT DoCoMo carrier. According to the release, both the iPad Air and iPad mini will be available on the largest Japanese carrier on June 10th. The carrier has supported the iPhone since late 2013. Both tablets will work with the DoCoMo LTE network. The company’s iPad LTE plans are already listed on its website, though you won’t actually be able to buy the device just yet....

In the patent battle that feels as if it will never end, Apple has today asked the Supreme Court not to review Samsung’s latest appeals request in the two companies’ ongoing patent feud. Back in December, it was announced that Apple and Samsung had reached a $548 million settlement, but with a catch. Samsung said in its part of the agreement that it reserved the right to reclaim reimbursement should any position of the trial be modified…...

Apple will soon open a new retail store The Bronx, New York City’s northernmost borough. On Friday, Apple publicly posted job openings for the new location on its Jobs website, inviting candidates to apply. Apple operates seven stores in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn, and one in both Queens and on Staten Island. The newly-announced location will be the first Apple Store in The Bronx, bridging the gap between Manhattan’s Upper West Side and Yonkers, New York, where Apple operates a store at Ridge Hill Mall....

Apple, Airbnb, AT&T, and Salesforce are among 13 companies to pledge support for CA Equal Pay Pledge, a new initiative designed to help achieve pay equality for women. Under the scheme, companies are invited to promise to conduct an annual company wide gender pay analysis to identify any disparities … CNBC reports that signatories also commit to examining their hiring and promotion processes to check for any inadvertent biases. The full list of inaugural signatories is:...