Apple is currently busy trying to extricate itself from an App Store mess. It’s making calls, writing letters, publishing white papers, and conducting interviews, all in an attempt to reverse the antitrust tide. Some of the moves it is making frankly signal desperation, and it’s astonishing to me that the company missed an opportunity to enjoy a PR dream instead of its current defensive nightmare. It’s not like Apple couldn’t see this coming – it had internal discussions about the issue a full decade ago …...

The vaccination against COVID-19 has started in several countries around the world, and we have already seen some apps that let users prove that they have taken the vaccine with just their iPhones. Now Apple is tightening the App Store rules to ensure that apps offering proof of vaccination are only submitted by health authorities. According to a statement shared with developers on Tuesday, Apple is seeing an increase in the number of apps that generate health passes with proof of vaccination, which can be required to enter buildings....

Apple is discussing its record numbers from Q1 2012 in a live call occurring right now. During the call, Apple’s SVP and CFO Peter Oppenheimer revealed that in only three months, 85 million users are now using iCloud. That is 5o million more iCloud accounts than iPhone 4S’s sold. Impressive. How important is iCloud? Cook’s remarks: Check out the rest of Apple’s impressive figures. It was a fundamental shift recognizing that people had numerous devices and they wanted the bulk of their content in the cloud and easily accessible from all of their devices, and you know, I think we’re seeing the response from that....

Apple today updated its iOS 8 feature availability list to add support for 9 new countries for a handful of Siri features and 5 new countries for CarPlay. New countries receiving Siri Twitter & Facebook integration, directions, and Shazam include Brazil, Denmark, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, and Turkey. In addition, India and New Zealand get access to Siri sports scores. Also added to the list today is support for CarPlay in Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Turkey, although CarPlay’s Maps feature is not yet available in these new countries....

Update: As expected, AirPods stock is limited. An hour later, the product is no longer available for Christmas delivery. In the US, delivery estimates are now quoting December 29th availability. eBay is already flooded with scalpers selling AirPods at inflated prices. The AirPods are now available to buy from Apple’s Online Store, with delivery before Christmas. You can buy AirPods from Apple and Best Buy (delivery in 2017). After many delays, Apple’s truly-wireless headphones are finally on sale which are the company’s preferred solution to the wireless audio future heralded by the iPhone 7....

Bloomberg reported Apple and Google’s Motorola unit are currently in negotiations to resolve their several patent disputes and have apparently exchanged “proposals on using binding arbitration to reach a licensing agreement” for standard essential patents. According to the report, Apple said in a court filing that “such an agreement could lead to a global settlement of all of their patent disputes.” The companies have been exchanging proposals on using binding arbitration to reach a licensing agreement over patents that are essential to comply with industry standards on how phones operate....

After months of rumors, Apple has officially announced the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The iPhone 12 Pro measures in at 6.1-inches, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max features a 6.7-inch screen. Read on for everything you need to know. iPhone 12 Pro details Apple says the form factors of the larger iPhone 12 Pro devices are “nearly the same” than the smaller iPhone 11 Pro models they replace....

In addition to announcing the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple today has also revealed new accessories for the device. As we expected, the company announced a new smaller version of the Smart Keyboard accessory for the device, as well. Apple of course originally introduced the Smart Keyboard with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro last November. In terms of design, the smaller Smart Keyboard looks almost the same as its larger sibling, just with a few minor tweaks to improve the experience with a smaller form factor....

As it has done in past years, Apple today is participating the San Francisco Pride Parade. Apple employees donned Pride-themed t-shirts with the Apple logo, as did CEO Tim Cook, Lisa Jackson, and Jay Blahnik. Apple generally releases a video highlighting its Pride Parade participation, though we don’t have one just yet for this year’s. The company has participated in the San Francisco Pride Parade since at least 2014. Apple employees and bystanders have shared numerous posts on Twitter about the company’s participation....

January File Photo We broke the news yesterday that Tim Cook was in China talking to the local telecoms about upcoming iPhones. It was speculated that along with the confirmed China Telecom, Cook would also likely be going after the big kahuna, China Mobile. Today, Reuters got a confirmation from China Mobile Ltd Chairman Xi Guohua that Tim Cook did meet in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss the iPhone. The Chinese telecom confirmed the meeting in an emailed statement saying only ‘matters of cooperation’ [iPhone]were discussed....

Apple has updated its collection of Apple Watch Sport Bands and iPhone cases today with a variety of new colors to celebrate summer. Today’s new releases come after Apple debuted two new Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Bands last month. In total, Apple has released four new colors for the Apple Watch Sport Band: linen blue, seafoam, vitamin C, and coastal gray. All four of the new colors are available to order from Apple’s Online Store today in 40mm and 44mm sizes for $49:...

Apple has already awarded $450 million from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund, and today it announced an additional $45 million investment. Apple says that its prior funding helped Corning to develop the resilient and durable Ceramic Shield glass, which debuted as the cover glass in the iPhone 12. It remains unclear whether Corning’s supply of Ceramic Shield glass is an exclusive deal, or if its research will be extended to other phone manufacturers in the future....

Apple has launched a new “Careers at Apple” website that serves as a replacement for its original “Jobs at Apple” webpage. The new Careers website features an all-new design with quotes from Apple employees, short films, and more. Apple’s new Careers website includes quotes from employees working on various teams at the company, including engineering, Apple Retail, and more. The site features an all-new scrolling design with videos, images, and banners....

Apple this evening has added a new featured section to the App Store focused on showcasing content that reflects LGBT pride. Apple notes that it is commemorating the 1969 Stonewall riots with the App Store section. The riots occurred during 1969 in New York City and are often seen as a pivotal moment in the fight equality for the LGBT community. In the featured App Store section, which replaces the section from last week that listed popular apps with support for VoiceOver, Apple is highlighting apps, movies, music, TV, podcasts, and books that represent the LGBT community....

Apple has launched the ‘Machine Learning Journal’, a blog for Apple’s software engineers to document their research and innovations in the AI and machine learning space. The first post shares insights into a published research paper about improving picture-based machine learning models without gathering additional training data manually. Apple will update the site throughout the year with new posts and is inviting questions from outside engineers, students and researchers. The first post is lengthy and technically-involved, so it certainly isn’t meant for mainstream eyes....

Apple has added some nice new touches to Apple Maps with animated 3D imagery for iconic landmarks starting with the UK. Apple Maps now shows the correct time on Big Ben and a rotating London Eye when users viewing the landmarks access the app’s 3D Flyover feature. Videos showing off the animated London Eye and Big Ben in Apple Maps are below: These latest additions to Maps follow Apple adding new locations for its Flyover feature that offers high resolution 3D imagery of select locales....

March is upon us, and for Apple, the month is shaping up to be quite busy. Major software updates will likely be released and there’s a services-packed event rumored for the end of the month. There are also a number of new hardware rumors floating around that could materialize at any point. Here’s our preview of Apple’s eventful month ahead: March Apple Event Apple has a history of holding special spring events in recent years, including the original iPhone SE unveiling, 9....

Bloomberg reports that Apple is moving more of its TV advertising in-house. This means the company is loosening ties with Chiat\Day, the ad agency Apple has used for more than 30 years, best known for producing Apple’s 1984 campaign. Apple told Bloomberg that Apple’s ‘Pencil’ iPad ad, pictured above, was developed by Apple’s internal advertising team and are now responsible for all other TV ads airing now. The report goes on to say that Apple built out its internal team using employees from Chiat\Day....

Users in Israel have long been waiting for a launch of Apple Music and today it appears as if it’s happening. Although Apple’s website still lists the service as “coming soon,” a handful of users in the country are reporting that they are now prompted with the service within the Music app. As is always the case, Apple is offering a 3 month free trial of the service to users in Israel....

A day after the Apple Music Lossless Audio announcement, there’s still a great deal of confusion. A few things have become clear in the meantime, but other elements remain murky. Apple spent most of its press release talking about Spatial Audio, and very little talking about Lossless Audio. That wasn’t a surprise: Anyone with the right kit will be able to hear the benefit of the former, while rather few will be able to hear the lossless difference…...