Update: Apple has confirmed to Axios that it has acquired Drive.ai. In the process, it has hired dozens of self-driving engineers, most of which will work on engineering and product design. According to a new report from the San Francisco Chronicle, Apple has hired a “handful” of hardware and software engineers from self-driving car startup Drive.ai – which is planning to close its doors later this week. So far, Apple is said to have hired five engineers from the startup....

Earlier today Apple reinforced its partnership with the PRODUCT(RED) campaign by announcing that 100% of the eligible proceeds from its (RED) devices and accessories will be redirected to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19 relief efforts. Now the company has also announced that it will donate $1 for every purchase made in its store with Apple Pay. Apple is emailing users in eligible countries that all purchases made with Apple Pay on Apple’s website, the Apple Store app, or even at an Apple Retail Store will result in $1 donated to (RED) Global Fund....

After Apple’s original contract securing the rights to use Liquidmetal’s unique metal alloy in consumer electronic products was extended through February 2015, today proof comes that Apple has once again secured rights for another year, hinting at its continued interest in the material. On June 17, 2015, Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) and Apple Inc. (“Apple”) entered into a third amendment (the “Third Amendment”) to the Master Transaction Agreement that was originally entered into on August 5, 2010 and amended on June 15, 2012 and May 17, 2014 (the “MTA”)....

Apple gamers, today is your lucky day. id Software got 100,000 likes on their Facebook page so they’re releasing the iOS version of their upcoming next gen shooter, Rage, free for a week. (Rage HD, Rage) Also, if Duke Nukem is your cup of tea, MacUpdate offers the just released Rated-M “epic ass-kicking, massive weapons, giant explosions and pure unadulterated fun” title $5 off today only with free Jets’n’Gold ($20 value) thrown in....

Apple was today granted a patent for devices with a curved glass sidewall with virtual buttons, switches and information displayed on the edge of the device. This approach is the same as that used by Samsung on its Galaxy Edge devices, and a less radical version of an earlier Apple patent for a full wraparound curved display. However, before anyone suggests that Samsung should sue Apple for copying its idea, it should be noted that Apple first applied for the patent in May 2014, almost a full year before Samsung launched its first Edge device, the Galaxy S6 Edge …...

Apple is readying some upgrades to its iCloud Photos web app found on iCloud.com, first noted by MacMagazine. The Photos web app allows users to access their iCloud Photo Library through a web browser, across Mac and Windows computers. However, it is somewhat rudimentary in its current state … but the beta.icloud.com site now includes a redesigned Photos app featuring a sidebar and thumbnail scrubber like what already exist in the native Photos app for Mac....

Apple has introduced a new “billing grace period” feature that it hopes will improve the customer experience for subscriptions in the App Store. Announced on the Apple Developer website, the feature aims to help users affected by unsuccessful auto-renewals of subscriptions. Apple explains that when a user’s subscription renewal fails, it will now attempt to collect payment from the user, but allow them to continue accessing the service during that process....

A Florida man claims that one of his AirPods started smoking while he was listening to music. As reported by WFLA, Tampa resident Jason Colon was working out at his local gym when he noticed his right AirPod “billowing” smoke… Colon says that once he realized the smoke emerging from his AirPod, he quickly took them out and sat them on the gym machine and went to seek help. When he returned, the right AirPod had burst open and showed “flame damage....

As we head into the weekend, all of today’s best deals are headlined by official Apple iPhone 11 cases from $14, as well as Anker iPhone essentials starting at $11 and Razer’s Kishi MFi iOS Controller Grip for $85. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Apple’s official iPhone 11/Pro/Max cases on sale from $14 Covering your iPhone 11 in a soft, silicone design, this case adds some extra grip on top of protection against bumps, drops, and scrapes....

Apple sold less than 500,000 iPhones in China across February as the region enforced restrictions on travel and public gatherings to counter the threat of coronavirus spread. Specifically, government figures showed Apple sold 494,000 phones in February, down 60% compared to the 1.27 million iPhones sold in the same month a year ago. Apple had originally projected revenue of $63 – $67 billion for the January-March 2020 period, following holiday quarter strength in sales from iPhone 11....

Just in time for some weekend motivation, Apple has added a new page to their website promoting Apple Watch’s activity tracking features. The page, titled “Close Your Rings,” details realistic and effective ways that Watch wearers can live a healthier and more active lifestyle by completing one simple goal each day. After the original Apple Watch went on sale in 2015, one of its standout features quickly became health tracking with the Activity and Exercise apps....

I gave my first impressions of Apple Music on day two, and my main disappointment remains: despite putting both owned and streamed music into a single app, there is absolutely no real integration between the two. All the evidence suggests that Apple Music has no awareness of my owned music. I’ll get past that in a moment, but bear with me first for a couple of paragraphs. Because this is, in my view, more than just a missed opportunity: it’s almost criminally negligent....

iPhone is presently only available in the UK, France and Germany; now the company is nearing deals to offer it in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland (done), Italy and Spain – even the Nordics might get some love. Lithuania and Denmark? sure! Fresh reports claim the iPhone will launch in Switzerland on April 4. The Apple device will be made available exclusively from Swisscom. Keep in mind, Hardmac had a very similar (actually much better) fake last time....

After first announcing its new iWork for iCloud productivity suite back in June at WWDC, Apple has been slowly rolling out access to more people ahead of a public beta release scheduled for this fall. It first extended the privilege to developers, then Apple employees, and in July started sending out invites to select non-developers. Today, several tips note that Apple now appears to be letting in anyone with an Apple ID despite not sending out invites or officially announcing a public beta....

Late last year there were rumors that Apple would release their EasyPay point-of-sale system as a commercial product to third parties. Last month Apple’s first customer, Gap Inc’s Old Navy subsidiary began piloting them. We’re told there is one per store and they are kept in a safe when not in use. The two Bay Area companies have had strong ties at the top with Gap’s former CEO Millard Drexler sitting on Apple’s Board since 1999 and Steve Jobs sitting on Gap’s from 1999 to 2002....

A new ad for Apple Card has landed on the company’s YouTube channel today. It’s similar to the “Introducing Apple Card” video and focuses on three key benefits of the new credit card being purchase tracking, Daily Cash, and security and privacy. The latest ad “Apple Card is here” features the same background song “Jeans” by Rubi and is more or less a condensed version of the “Introducing Apple Card” video....

Apple has shared today that App Store prices in four countries will rise. The new prices will take effect in the coming days and are due to tax rate increases ranging from 7.5-19% in the affected countries. Apple warned developers of the incoming App Store pricing changes today on its developer site: Here are the specific changes for each country: When taxes or foreign exchange rates change, we sometimes need to update prices on the App Store....

Earlier this week, some iCloud users noticed that the $0.99/mo 50 GB and $2.99/mo 200 GB iCloud plans had seemingly disappeared. Furthermore, some users received emails informing them that their 50GB or 100GB plan had been discontinued. While the issues eventually resolved themselves, Apple today has sent out an email to affected customers offering a bit more insight… In today’s email, Apple explains that the emails sent out earlier this week were sent in error and that there have been no changes to iCloud storage plans....

A petition has been floating around this afternoon railing Apple for being ‘anti-choice’ extremist, because Siri won’t serve up Siri results for Abortion providers, instead leading users to “anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers”(CPCs). Groups like NARAL want Apple to take action: The petition is issued straight to CEO Tim Cook with almost 20,000 backers. But is Apple really at fault here? Just like when Google’s search algorithm pulls up manipulated results (like Santorum), Apple and its location partners like Yelp are pulling up manipulated results....

After settling a class action lawsuit brought on by parents arguing the iOS freemium model, i.e. in-app purchases, allowed children to easily rack up thousands of dollars, Apple has made a subtle change to the App Store to make consumers more aware of apps that offer in-app purchases. The Guardian confirmed with Apple that it recently added a new “Offers In-App Purchases” warning directly underneath the download button in iTunes following the settlement (as pictured above)....