. Do you remember the iTunes/App Store overhaul we talked about a few days ago? Yeah, Apple is not doing that 100 percent organically like the barley at Cafe Macs. Turns out, it is bringing some outside talent to help with the job. TechCrunch learned that a startup founded by Ben Keighran called “Chomp” is now part of Apple: Chomp currently powers Verizon’s Android market, but it might be time for Big Red to look for a new technology partner....

Following two weeks of preorders and the public launch on Friday, Apple today announced it has sold over 13 million iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in the first three days of availability. The company had previously stated it was on pace to beat last year’s 10 million unit sales record and has cleanly done so, topping its previous record by 3 million units. Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in an additional 40 countries beginning October 9th....

Also, Apple has upped the build to order option to 8TB of Hard drive space (4x2TB) from 4TB. 3.33GHz Xeons processors and 2TB hard drives have been out for quite awhile, so this isn’t a big surprise. In fact, 2TB hard drives have reached commodity status (two generations of iMacs) with prices falling below $200 for consumer level versions. Apple’s Xserves also get the 2TB hard drive (x3 slots=6TB). Apple has thrown in a build-to-order RAM update as well....

Apple’s massive Campus 2 project has been years in the making and construction is on track to finally wrap up over the next few weeks. And thanks to the magic of drone technology and a few generous pilots, we’ve had a birds-eye view of the major progress on site this year. Now two new 4K drone videos offer a beautiful holiday snapshot at just how far along the progress has come…...

Apple has confirmed to AllThingsD that this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will kickoff with a keynote address on Monday, June 10th. Apple typically kicks off its WWDCs with keynotes. Apple previously said that it would debut new versions of iOS and OS X at WWDC. The conference runs from June 10th until June 15th. We’re expecting Apple to debut a redesigned iOS 7 with improved in-car integration, more social network connectivity and OS X 10....

While recent reports are pegging a launch sooner than later, reliable sources say that Apple is currently planning to ship iOS 7.1, the first significant update to iOS 7, in March. The iOS 7.1 update is said to not have any “secret features,” and it will basically be what we have been told to expect by the past five betas: some user-interface tweaks in the Phone app, an improved Calendar app, speed improvements, and numerous bug-fixes....

Apple’s iTunes Store is celebrating International Women’s Day 2017 by dedicating the entire Movies and TV Shows pages to titles and collections featuring actresses, directors, producers, TV series, films, and documentaries. IWD’s official theme this year is ‘#BeBoldForChange’ and focuses on the goal of a gender inclusive world. Apple’s TV Shows section called “Celebrating Women of TV” highlights Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, Westworld‘s Lisa Joy, Full Frontal host and comedian Samantha Bee, Issa Rae of HBO’s Insecure, Rebecca Sugar who created Cartoon Network’s Steve Universe series, Nahnatchka Kkan of Fresh Off the Boat, and Rachel Bloom together with Aline Brosh McKenna for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend....

Apple’s Carpool Karaoke adaptation was originally slated to debut this month on Apple Music, but the company has apparently delayed that premiere. According to a report from Reuters, the release of Carpool Karaoke has been pushed until “later this year,” but without any specific reason. Apple was reportedly set to host a primer party for its Carpool Karaoke spinoff last month, but the event was delayed at the last-minute without explanation....

It appears Apple has started rolling out support for two-factor authentication on its iCloud.com website. The feature initially rolled out to the Apple ID management website in the United States and then in several other countries soon after. Under the new setup on iCloud.com, users can only access Find My iPhone without verifying their identities. Mail, Contacts, and other “apps” require you to enter a passcode that can be texted to any phone number or sent to the Find My iPhone app on properly configured devices....

Apple will sell customers who ordered a Mac mini via the company’s online store in Taiwan their purchased computers at the price the machines were briefly advertised at — around a third normal price. An error on Apple’s retail store meant 41,500 Mac mini orders were made at the price advertised, as we explained, Apple Taiwan Mac Mini price boo-boo makes a big brouhaha, Apple originally attempted to raise the cost to the normal price but got in hot water from Taiwan regulators for this....

One of Apple’s first original content efforts is its Planet of the Apps reality show. Originally announced last year, the series is an unscripted reality show focused on developers creating apps and receiving mentorship from various celebrities during the process. According to a report today, Apple has recently concluded filming the show… As explained by MacRumors, the filming reportedly took place near Hollywood on a set built by Apple. Following the conclusion of filming, Apple tore the set down....

As Apple looks to continue to expand the content available on the new fourth-gen Apple TV, Variety reports that the company has hired a former Viacom publication relations representative to handle content relations for the Apple TV. Bernadette Simpao will join Apple after previously working at AMC and Viacom. Simpao was with Viacom for 10 years before jumping to AMC in 2014 and carrying the role of VP of corporate communications....

Joining a longlist of Apple executives and new hires thought to be working on Apple’s highly anticipated iWatch project, the company has recently picked up Roy J.E.M Raymann from Philips Research, an expert on sleep research with extensive experience in wearables, sensors, and non-pharmacological methods of improving sleep quality. The possibilities here are absolutely fascinating… Before joining Apple, Raymann served as a senior scientist at Philips Research working as a lead on various sleep related research projects....

Tom Hanks has played many roles throughout his acting career in movies like Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, and even Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy, and today the actor is finally adding app developer to that list. Hanx Writer, a flashy new app with a very classic concept revisited for the tablet age, is the result of close collaboration between Tom Hanks and the game/mobile app development studio Hitcents....

Apple this week has added another product to its obsolete category: the sixth-generation, Apple Watch-esque iPod nano. In being obsolete, the device is no longer supported by Apple customer service for repair or servicing. This shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise., though Apple regularly adds older products to its “vintage and obsolete” product category and it discontinued the entire iPad nano and iPod shuffle brands earlier this year. Now that the sixth-generation iPod nano is formally obsolete (via MacRumors), Apple is not obligated to provide support except in California where state law requires extended coverage....

Apple has just released iOS 14 beta 3 for developers, and while we are still looking for what has changed, we have already found some visible updates to the Music app and Apple Music. What most users will notice after updating to the latest version of iOS 14 is the new Music app icon, which comes as a surprise. The new icon has a gradient with shades of red instead of the white background, which is somewhat similar to the old Music app icon on iOS 8....

Respawn’s Apex Legends has hidden animal Easter eggs throughout its map. Right out of the gate it was clear that Apex Legends would be a runaway success. The game managed to hit 10 million players within its launch week, and gamers have been enjoying the latest battle royale entry ever since. Since Respawn first cut its teeth with Titanfall (which takes place in the same universe as Apex Legends), it was inevitable that a handful of references to that series made it into this title....

Last year Apple announced a new enterprise-focused partnership with SAP, and now the two companies are unveiling a new tool created through their collaboration for developing business software. The new ‘SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS’ is set to be released near the end of next month: Apple’s VP of Product Marketing Susan Prescott, who has been on stage during recent Apple keynotes, said the new tools will help developers transform their businesses:...

Apple announced today that it will release its first quarter earnings call for 2018 on February 1st. The company made the announcement on its Investor Relations webpage, saying it will hold a call with investors at 2PM PT/5PM ET on the same day… As a refresher, Apple’s Q4 2017 numbers included profits of $10.7 billion on revenue of $52.6 billion. The company sold 46.7 million iPhones, 10.3 million iPads, and 5....

Apple has announced holiday quarter results including $78.4b in revenue and $17.89 billion in profit from 78.3m iPhones, 13m iPads, and 5.3m Macs sold. In addition to holiday sales, Apple’s first quarter for fiscal year 2017 includes the bulk of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus sales, Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2, AirPods, as well as the launch of new MacBook Pro models. FY17 Q1 results compare to $46....