Apple Michigan Avenue is offering a new perspective on the built world with a series of Today at Apple sessions celebrating the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Local photographers, architects, urban planners and Apple’s Creatives at the flagship store will host Walks and Labs from November 3-24. The Chicago Architecture Biennial is an organization of exhibitions and programs that focus on architecture and urbanism. 2019’s theme is …and other such stories. The Biennial pushes to encompass a broad range of studies that shape Chicago’s urban development....

We have already provided an early look at how you’ll be able to change default apps on iOS 14, although Apple itself hasn’t disclosed details about this new feature. This week, however, the company has shared the documentation of the new API with more details on how it will work and the guidelines that developers need to follow. iOS users have never been able to set third-party apps as default. While you can install Chrome, Spark, and other apps on your iPhone or iPad, the system will always open Safari and Mail when you tap a URL or email address....

Apple has dropped delivery times for the Apple iPad 2 down to 2-3 weeks around the world as distribution starts to catch up with demand. We’ve been hearing from readers that shipping times are often much quicker than stated (Apple likes to exceed expectations) with some readers reporting getting delivery of their iPads within a week of order. Brick an mortar distribution has been hit or miss with some readers reporting no wait for their iPad 2s while others report month long lead times....

Following last week’s WWDC keynote and accompanying sessions, a pair of Apple executives have joined Relay FM’s Upgrade podcast with Myke Hurley and Jason Snell to talk about the latest features in macOS 11 Big Sur, Safari, and more. In the interview, Apple marketing VP Bob Borchers and product manager Ronak Shah talk about the latest macOS updates coming with this year’s update to Big Sur. Apple’s Craig Federighi said during last week’s keynote that macOS Big Sur includes the “biggest update to Safari ever,” with enhancements to privacy, extensions, and more....

As it continues to expand its programming team, Apple has reportedly poached a Paramount executive to oversee its comedy efforts. TBI Vision reports that Apple has hired Dana Tuinier from The Paramount Network, where she served as vice president of development and original programming. Interestingly enough, The Paramount Network only launched 11 days ago as a rebranded version of Spike with its parent company Viacom aiming to align its properties under the Paramount name....

The war of words between Apple and Imagination Technologies seems to be escalating. A few days after Imagination’s annual report accused Apple of making ‘unsubstantiated allegations,’ the Cupertino company has hit back. Apple says that the chip designer’s response has been ‘inaccurate and misleading,’ and presents a very different timeline of events … While Imagination disclosed in April a warning from Apple that it would cease to be a customer within two years, Apple told Bloomberg that it first issued a warning as long ago as 2015....

Apple is increasingly switching from suppliers based in Taiwan to those in mainland China as it seeks to drive down production costs, according to a Taiwanese report … Some former Apple suppliers in Taiwan have been forced to find new revenue streams to replace the lost business, reports Digitimes. MacBook aluminum chassis maker Catcher is reported to be one of the casualties. Though the report notes that Taiwanese companies Catcher, Foxconn and Casetek are likely to remain key chassis suppliers due to their ability to meet the volumes required by Apple....

Silicon Valley Business Journal reports that Apple has secured a deal to build another spaceship campus in Sunnyvale, California. The company will purchase Landbank Investments LLC’s planned Central & Wolfe campus which comes in at 777,000-square-feet at Central Expressway and Wolfe Road in Silicon Valley. Specific terms of the deal are unknown at this point, although the report claims that the deal has been finalized and completed. It’s also believed that Apple most likely leased, not purchased, the project....

If you’re one of those people who likes to leave your holiday gift shopping until the last minute, Apple has you covered. Apple notes on its website that you can order products online right up to 2pm on 23rd December and the company will deliver them overnight free of charge. This replaces the normal two-day shipping. Still not cutting things fine enough for you? No problem … In selected countries, Apple also allows you to place your online order right up until two hours before the closing time of your local Apple Store, and pick up the goods the same day – including the 24th....

Apple has today updated Apple Maps with new transit direction cities, and expanded support for indoor maps for malls and airports. Today’s Apple Maps updates are being done server side so no software update is required. Starting today, transit directions will be available in (via MacRumors) Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas. Outside of the U....

Apple officially announced yesterday that its Thunderbolt Display is dead. The monitor was never updated to match the much thinner design of the current iMacs, it featured a MagSafe 1 connector and required a MagSafe 2 adapter, and its resolution was far inferior to Retina iMacs so it was no surprise to see it finally discontinued. Apple typically replaces a discontinued product with a newer version, though, so yesterday’s move could be interpreted as a sign that the company is fully exiting the external display business....

Allegations that Apple is engaging in anti-competitive practices in the run-up to the launch of its rebranded Beats streaming music service are now being investigated by the Department of Justice, according to “multiple sources” cited by The Verge. The claim is that Apple has been attempting to use its influence to persuade music labels to pull out of deals with free, ad-supported services like Spotify and YouTube in order to reduce competition and increase demand for its own paid service....

Apple today announced the new high-end 16-inch MacBook Pro which replaces the existing 15-inch lineup. The new MacBook Pro heralds the return of scissor switch keyboard with a ‘Magic Keyboard’, a six-speaker system, up to 8-core processor, and up to 64 GB RAM. The new keyboard brings back a physical Escape key and 1mm of key travel. You can configure the new MacBook Pro with up to 8 TB of SSD storage....

Apple today announced watchOS 2, a new version of the operating system for the increasingly available Apple Watch, promising support for native third-party apps, on-screen video playback, and a collection of many new features for both users and developers. The developer beta for watchOS 2 will be available today, and offered for free to everyone in the fall. “For us, this is a giant moment,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, discussing opening up the platform to new and powerful third-party uses before introducing Kevin Lynch to detail features, including…...

One day after it started selling the refurbished M1 MacBook Pro, Apple has also now started selling the M1 MacBook Air via its Certified Refurbished store. The M1 MacBook Air starts at $849 in refurbished condition, a savings of $150. In total, Apple is selling five different configurations of the M1 MacBook Air via its refurbished store available in gold, silver, and space gray color options. $849 (down from $999): M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU, 8GB unified memory, 256GB SSD $1019 (down from $1199): M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 256GB SSD $1059 (down from $1249): M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 8GB unified memory, 512GB SSD $1229 (down from $1449): M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD $1399 (down from $1649): M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 1TB SSD As with all refurbished Apple products, the company highlights that refurbished M1 MacBook Air units have gone through a “rigorous” refurbishment process, while you also get a one-year warranty covering manufacturing defects....

Apple today began training its retail store employees in multiple countries, including the U.S. and the U.K, about the upcoming Apple Watch. The training is said to not divulge many new details, but the beginning of the training program does represent Apple’s first move on the retail employee level in preparing for the Watch. We reported last week that Apple is preparing to use traditional jewelry store tactics for the gold version of the Apple Watch....

While the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus was scheduled to arrive in 40+ more countries for Apple’s second wave launch this month, the company is delaying sales of the device in one of those countries, Turkey, due to recent terror attack that killed 97 people in the country’s capital Ankara. Apple confirmed that sales of the device would be delayed in an email to partners in the country that was obtained by appletoolbox....

Following the release of iOS 10.3 earlier today, Apple has offered up more details on support for developers engaging with users in the Reviews section of the App Store. Apple had previously announced that developers would be able to reply to app reviews, but now the company has offered up more details. In a post on its developer blog, Apple outlined two new features that come with the new StoreKit API available in iOS 10....

Citing recent research conducted on behalf of RBC Technology, the analyst told Silicon Alley Insider that 56 per cent of those planning to purchase a smartphone in the next ninety days plan to buy an iPhone – that’s up form 35 per cent in March. The research also revealed that consumer interest in the iPhone has grown faster than in advance of any other phone launch recorded by the company....

Sonos users rejoice: Apple Music support now has a date, December 15th. Sonos support for Apple Music fulfills a promise made by Apple in June to bring the subscription service to the connected speakers by the end of the year. Opening the Apple Music catalog for subscribers and free trial members makes brings a massive collection of content to Sonos speakers. If you’re looking to jump into the Sonos ecosystem, 9to5Toys recently highlighted an excellent Play:1 Starter Set deal for $349, which includes two Sonos Play:1 units (reg....