The USPTO has today published a patent application by Apple to allow a specific fingerprint to activate a ‘panic mode’ on an iPhone, designed for use when the owner feels threatened, is in danger or is being forced to unlock their phone. In its most basic form, placing a specific finger on the Touch ID button would place the iPhone into a special locked-down mode, blocking access to personal data store on the phone – perhaps simulating a brand new phone....

Last week, Apple pulled the curtains off their three new models. Each with an IP68 rating, are capable of submerging in water for 30-minutes as deep as 5-feet in the water. Another upgrade is the glass used on these devices. As per Apple, this is the most endurable glass ever used on a smartphone. For time-being, iPhone customers may be content with this, but Apple is not stopping at this. According to a patent application filed in March 2017 at the USPTO, Apple is working hard on an abrasion resistant finish that will protect your iPhone from not just scratches, but dents as well....

Last week the Department of Justice filed a response to Apple in the ongoing case concerning whether or not Apple should unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen. At the time, Apple called the filing a “cheap shot” and said it was meant to “vilify” the company. Now, Apple has officially filed a formal response to the FBI’s submission. In the filing, Apple makes several assertions, including that the FBI is trying to “rewrite history” with its request....

Apple is one of several technology and car companies complaining to the European Commission over what it believes is patent abuse. The Irish Times reports that companies including Apple, Cisco, Daimler, and BMW are urging officials to take action against other companies who they believe are abusing the patent system. Apple is one of 27 companies to have signed onto the letter, which was sent to the European Commission. The purpose of the letter is to bring awareness to companies who refuse to license “essential patents on fair terms....

Apple has just announced WWDC for 2020, coming in June (no exact date specified). The conference will be presented as what Apple calls a completely new online experience, confirming that a physical event will not be happening this year due to coronavirus concerns. In the online event, Apple will preview the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. Apple will also release developer betas at the same time. Apple VP Phil Schiller said in a press statement that the current health situation has required that Apple change the format for this year....

Despite the Canadian Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation into allegedly anti-competitive practices involving Apple and wireless carriers, Apple Canada has reportedly forced distributor Ingram Micro to stop selling used iPhones to Wind Mobile, a small wireless carrier. According to The Globe and Mail, a complaint from Bell Mobility, an authorized Apple partner and competitor to Wind, appears to have sparked Apple’s action. The report notes that Ingram purchased large quantities of used iPhone 5c and 5s models from Brightstar, Apple’s official iPhone recycling partner....

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today, Apple revealed that CEO Tim Cook has donated 50,000 Apple stock shares to charity this week. At today’s stock price of just over $130 per share, this number of shares is equivalent to approximately $6.5 million. Cook’s previous publicly-known, personal donation was to Project One America, an LGBT equality campaign… Apple did not disclose which charities Cook donated these shares to today’s filing, which was first noted by Daisuke Wakabayashi....

According to several Apple Retail employees, Apple management is cracking down on employee usage of the current iOS 7 betas. These people say that store managers and Apple’s Human Resources representatives are contacting employees that are discovered to be using the iOS 7 beta. Apple would like to make sure that these employees obtained the iOS 7 beta via official Developer channels, not third-party websites. However, the larger concern is that some Apple managers feel that Apple Retail employees are purchasing developer accounts and distributing the iOS 7 beta to colleagues....

Today, the team behind Safari’s web browser engine, WebKit, have detailed how designers should be building sites for the iPhone X. The upcoming iPhone’s sensor housing, aka “notch,” has presented new challenges for designers and developers alike. This has left some implementing creative “solutions” for the problem. Having WebKit lay out some official guidelines for the iPhone X should help web developers around the globe. The documentation today is similar to what Stephen Radford had previously dissected within CSS....

From 9to5toys.com: . The Apple Store offers the factory-refurbished Apple iPad 16GB Wi-Fi Tablet in Black (pictured) or White for $419. With free shipping, that’s $30 under our mention of a refurb from a month ago and $70 under the lowest total price we could find for a new one today. The 32 and 64GB Wifi iPads drop to $499 and $599 respectively. That’s $50 below yesterday and $100 below new....

The WSJ reported last week that Apple is partnering with Goldman Sachs to launch a new credit card later in the year. The paper has more today on Apple’s choice of partner … The WSJ reports that Apple rejected rival bids from much bigger players, surprising many in the banking industry. The partnership immediately creates a serious contender, says one consultant. Neither Apple nor Goldman has much experience in consumer finance....

As I’ve stated before, I believe that Apple will, in 2009, deliver a new ARM Cortex Touch-based platform with a much bigger screen and physical keyboard option that will serve as a general computing platform for the masses. This will incluse the Mobile multi-touch Safari, Apps store, Mail.app, iCal Maps, GPS, iWork and iLife Mobile. This will also be the opening battle in the Intel vs. ARM architecture war. More below on this from ABI research:...

As much attention Apple is giving to iOS 12, that much it is also giving to the Watch OS 5. The OEM rolled out the 8th developer beta for the watches a few days ago. To shape it up, even more, it’s now seeding out the Watch OS 5 Developer Beta 9. This software only targets the developer folks and it is available for all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watches....

Apple says its new Schoolwork app for iPad is now available for teachers. The app was first announced back in March at Apple’s education event where it introduced the new 9.7-inch iPad with Apple Pencil support. Schoolwork was previously available as a beta app, and now Apple says all teachers will have access: Schoolwork lets teachers create assignments for students using iPads to learn with apps like iBooks, Swift Playgrounds, GeoGabra AR, Kahoot!...

Apple’s new Apple Park campus is officially set to open next month, and ahead of that, the company has recently updated Apple Maps with satellite imagery of the new campus and a proper description. As can see into image above, you get some beautiful 3D imagery of Apple Park in Apple Maps, though not necessarily up to date. Nevertheless, we have some more details and images below… The new Apple Park campus still isn’t always the first result when you type “Apple Park” into Maps, but it is now one of the options....

Reports from local French newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré (via iPhone.fr) claim Apple has signed contracts to open a new R&D lab in Grenoble, France focusing on imaging technologies. Apple has already had a team of researchers working secretively in the area, according to the reports, but a new 800 square meter R&D lab will allow it to expand to a team of approximately 30 people. Apple is said to have chosen the location due a collaboration with semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics, a supplier of components for various Apple products including past iPhone models and Apple Watch....

Apple has opened a new studio in New York City for its always-on Beats 1 radio station. Fast Company reports that the studio is located in Manhattan’s Union Square, and that artists and hosts will be able to broadcast live from the studio, as well as pre-record shows whenever that happens to be more convenient. The new Manhattan studio joins existing studios in Los Angels and London. Beats 1 shows, specifically those hosted by Ebro Darden, have been broadcast from New York City on a regular basis, but not from a dedicated studio....

Apple Fitness+ has officially launched with iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2. While you can do many of the workouts without needing any gear, there are some workout types that you’ll need weights, a bike, rower, and more. Now Apple’s landing page for a curated collection of workout equipment has gone live. Various options highlighted on the new Apple Fitness+ special equipment page has been live on Apple’s website before today but now the whole collection is featured in one place....

Tom Gruber, AI expert at Apple, delivered a talk at TED 2017 today to share his thoughts on the future power of computing. According to Axios, Tom Gruber declared that computing should be “used to augment human failings, such as memory.” Apple’s Gruber was profiled a few months back when he spoke on the record about the improvements seen in Siri on iOS 10. At the time he talked about how machine learning would help smooth out Siri’s sentences to make it sound more like an actual person....

Three of the five accused eBook publishers already settled with the U.S. Department of Justice, but Macmillan and Penguin chose to also fight the Department of Justice along with Apple. All five publishers are accused of meeting in a London hotel to discuss raising the price of eBooks—a meeting that Apple was absent from. This is why Apple said it did not do anything wrong. However, the real kicker that comes into play is that Apple’s move to let publishers set their own prices, and it is a requirement that publishers do not sell their digital books for cheaper elsewhere, forced consumers to pay millions more for eBooks than they should have....