In this episode of the Apple @ Work podcast, Bradley is joined by Sunil Patro from SignEasy to talk about how the digital signature industry has evolved in the last decade. Sponsored by iMazing: The popular iOS device manager which gives you unparalleled control over iOS and iPadOS data. Request your free trial now. Links mentioned in this episode SignEasy Sunil Patro on LinkedIn eSignature usage among human resources professionals grows 2,530% Connect with Bradley Twitter LinkedIn Listen and Subscribe Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Pocket Casts Castro RSS

The Wall Street Journal reports that home automation company R2 studios is in acquisition talks with Apple, Google, and Microsoft. The company was founded by Blake Krikorian. He is known for creating Sling Media, the company behind the popular Slingbox product and service. R2 Studios is yet to release much publicly, but does have an Android app to control elements of the home such as lighting and heating systems. The talks are reportedly preliminary in some cases....

After a number of reports and tweets from across the Web announced outages for iCloud mail this morning, Apple updated its system status page confirming the outage lasted from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. PDT and affected approximately 12 percent—or 15 million— of iCloud’s 125 million users. Unfortunately, Apple’s iCloud Support page was not updated until after service was restored, which left most users in the dark as to why they could not access Mail and Notes during the outage....

Ahead of a meeting with government officials later this month to discuss how Apple could prevent increasing smartphone crimes, Apple today introduced a new feature called ‘Activation Lock’ that it says will be “a really powerful theft deterrent” when released later this fall in iOS 7. We told you earlier this month that government officials in the US were calling Apple, Google and others to a “smartphone summit” later this month on June 13 to discuss the increasing amount of smartphone related crime in New York city and the rest of the country....

Along with several other new APIs for developers, Apple has announced HomeKit which allows all home automation accessories/devices to work together. The new API will allow home automation developers to centralize all home automation in iOS without needing separate apps to access each device’s specific features. These devices include locks, lights, cameras, doors, thermostats, plugs, switches, and more. HomeKit allows for secure pairing with devices and the ability to control individual devices....

Just as it did last year on the first day of spring, Apple has announced a new collection of Apple Watch bands with ‘vibrant colors and unique designs.’ The new bands include Sport, Nylon and classic buckle designs as well as special Nike and Hermès models … There are four new bands aimed at all Apple Watch models. Sport Band in Denim Blue, Lemonade and Red Raspberry Woven Nylon in Black Stripe, Blue Stripe, Gray Stripe and Pink Stripe Sport Loop in Flash Light, Hot Pink, Marine Green and Tahoe Blue Classic Buckle in Spring Yellow, Electric Blue and Soft Pink The Nike Sport Loop will for the first time be sold without the watch, along with two new colors....

Following a report earlier this month that Apple started acknowledging a long-standing complaint over a common iMessage bug, Bloomberg (via BI) reports that a customer has filed a lawsuit against Apple and is seeking class action status with a San Jose court. The problem exists with how Apple’s messaging app handles the switch from its iPhone to iPhone iMessaging platform to traditional SMS text messages when contacts switch to new devices....

In this case, future iMac and Mac mini owners will bathe themselves in the advantages brought by the Fusion Drive, which has just been introduced tonight. But how exactly Fusion Drive works? What are the differences between SSD, standard hard drives and Fusion Drive? How come Apple has came up with this idea and what consequences will this technology generate on the market? All of this, and plenty more, below....

Apple’s latest cunning move in its Holy Crusade against Android involves getting a court order to force Google, the maker of Android software, to produce documents detailing the Android roadmap and its proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of handset maker Motorola Mobility. It was not immediately clear what data Apple was exactly seeking to uncover. This is notable, because Apple is actually going after Google with this request. It is the first direct in the ongoing legal war considering Apple fought Google by proxy in the past....

Apple has hired a former Warner Music executive to lead part of its Apple Music team. As first reported by Reuters, Jeff Bronikowski is joining Apple as the company’s global head of strategic music initiatives. Bronikowski made the announcement on LinkedIn last night, saying that he’ll be working with the Apple Music team. He’ll be based in New York City, but also spending time in Culver City and Cupertino: Prior to joining Apple Music this month, Bronikowski served as a senior vice president at Warner Music Group....

Apple today officially launched a version of its Apple Store iPhone trade-in program for China, as noted on the individual store pages for China’s Apple Retail Stores. As is the case in the United States and several other countries with Apple Stores, the program allows a user to bring in an older iPhone model and trade in that device for gift card credit toward the purchase of a new iPhone; the program will most likely not allow a customer to trade in an iPhone toward the purchase of an Apple Watch....

With supply constraints across the board this year, Apple has launched a new “Holiday Shipping and Fulfillment” webpage. On this page, Apple details the latest dates to order your holiday gifts with free shipping in time for delivery before December 25. Here’s how Apple describes this guide: Most notably, the opportunity to order certain products in time for holiday delivery has already passed. If you wanted an iPhone 12 Pro, Apple says you should have ordered by November 24....

Apple has picked up a few new hires and advisors to assist its growing Watch team ahead of the Apple Watch launch currently on track for March. Among them, Apple has recently hired another executive from the fashion industry, this time from Louis Vuitton, in addition to two new hires from the medical industry. Jacob Jordan, previously based in Paris as Louis Vuitton’s director of the company’s men’s ready to wear collection, joined Apple in October and since confirmed the move on his LinkedIn page....

Apple Music for Android might not be the most popular music streaming service but with version 3.30 it may entice you with gapless playback support. Introduced with the latest update, gapless playback appears to be enabled by default as part of the latest version 3.30 update (via Android Police). This might not be the biggest addition but version 3.30 also brings some other tweaks and improvements that might appease Apple Music subscribers....

Following our report in late July that Apple was about to start selling iPhones through carrier upgrade/installment plans like AT&T’s Next, the company is now offering exactly that through its online store. As of earlier this month, Apple’s website now displays the AT&T Next $0 down installment plan for existing AT&T customers upgrading to a new iPhone 5s, 5c, or 4S. That option is alongside its previous options of purchasing a device under a typical 2-year contract with one of the carriers or unlocked and contract-free....

Apple has today begun supporting the Malala Foundation in Latin America to help provide educational opportunities for girls. The collaboration will be between the foundation and Apple’s 10 Developer Academies in Brazil. As stated in an Apple press release, the Malala foundation works to create safe, quality secondary education and opportunities for girls in Brazil. Malala was able to meet the young students at Apple’s Developer Academies in Brazil on Friday....

Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts have done a great job by releasing the Apex Legends Mobile video game after the success of the PC version. It’s a free-to-play multiplayer online battle royale shooter video game that becomes one of the most downloaded titles across 60 countries in a short period of time. However, it seems that some players are facing Apex Legends Mobile FPS drops quite often. If you too, you can check the steps to Boost Performance....

A viral tweet over the last week has led to a lot of confusion about whether or not Apple can delete movies you’ve purchased through iTunes from your library. In a statement to CNET this weekend, however, Apple addressed the controversy and offered a bit more detail on the situation. In his original tweet, Anders Gonçalves da Silva said that he had three movies disappear from his iTunes library. After reaching out to Apple support, he was told that the “content provider” had removed the movies from the Canadian iTunes Store....

Nortel decided to extend the deadline for the start of the auction for its patents until June 27 citing “significant interest” from third parties. Today we learn that two Silicon Valley giants are significantly interested in Nortel’s war chest of more than five thousand wireless patents said to be worth well over a billion dollars. They are Apple and Intel, reports The Wall Street Journal. Other bidders include Ericsson AB and a company called RPX Corp which “defensively buys up patents on behalf of other companies to stop them from being used against them by investors”....

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXKqIr4cjyo] Globes reports that Apple has completed its purchase of PrimeSense, the Israel-based firm behind the technology in Microsoft’s Kinect sensor, and Apple confirmed the acquisition to AllThingsD. As noted earlier this year, the deal will cost Apple somewhere between $300-350 million. PrimeSense previously denied any talks with Apple. The sensor firm is no longer working with Microsoft, as the Xbox manufacturer has moved to all in-house work for its latest Kinect-based technology....