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Following the discontinuation of the iMac Pro earlier this year, Apple is now winding down sales of the accompanying space gray Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse. These accessories were first introduced exclusively for the iMac Pro when it was released in 2017, and Apple started selling them separately in March of 2018. On the Apple Online Store, Apple now says the space gray Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad will only be available “while supplies last....

As reported in new filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today, a handful of top Apple executives today received large stock awards due to the company’s continued strong performance. The executives receiving the payout include Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Angela Ahrendts, and Luca Maestri. Schiller, Cue, Riccio, and Williams all vested 130,117 shares, which were worth right around $22 million based on the price of Apple’s stock....

A month after launching the promotion in the United States, Apple today has launched its Back to School promotion in Europe. The deal is the same there as it is in the U.S., offering free Beats headphones with select Mac and iPad Pro purchases…. Specifically, customers can get a free pair of Beats Solo3 headphones when buying a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, or Mac Pro. Meanwhile, you can get a free pair of BeatsX with the purchase of a 10....

Apple and Spotify are engaged in a bitter antitrust battle in Europe, with Spotify claiming that Apple’s App Store rules give it an unfair advantage over competitors. Apple has now responded to Spotify’s claims in a new filing with the European Commission. The filling was first reported by German newspaper Der Spiegel. In the document, Apple accuses Spotify of knowingly presenting false information regarding the fees it pays to Apple through the App Store....

Apple is getting closer to taking its retail stores to a new market: Belgium. According to sources within Apple retail, Apple today sent out a memo announcing the new market. The note also was sent to gauge interest from employees who may be inclined to relocate to Belgium to assist with opening up the new location… When Apple enters new markets, the company frequently seeks employees from the United States and other established markets to temporarily assist with new store launches....

Apple has won 16 new patents published by the the US Patent and Trademark Office today (via PatentlyApple) that cover everything from possible methods of charging future Apple products via solar power, to key multi-touch technology and iOS camera related patents. Certainly more fuel for the ongoing patent wars between Apple and the rest of the smartphone industry. We already know Apple is experimenting with solar power from past patents, even going as far as considering which company would produce panels for future products....

As it often does after a disaster, Apple is inviting website visitors to contribute to a fundraising appeal – this time for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in London in which 79 people are either confirmed or presumed to have lost their lives. The 24-floor residential tower block, devoted to social housing, caught fire overnight on 14th June after a fridge-freezer burst into flames. Design features that should ensure a fire is contained within a single apartment for 60 minutes somehow failed, and the fire spread, aided by flammable cladding on the exterior of the building …...

Apple Maps gained the Look Around street view feature last fall along with iOS 13 but it was launched in limited cities. Now the handy option has rolled out to Boston, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. You can check out the expanded Look Around feature in Apple Maps now by pulling up addresses, landmarks, and more and looking for the binoculars button in the top right corner or bottom left corner (via MacRumors)....

Forbes along with Just Capital are out with a new rankings report today, detailing America’s best corporations to work under. The key factors to high marks here are employee treatment (25% scoring weight) and customer treatment (18% scoring weight). However, a handful of other humane factors are at play here, such as “environment” “products”, “leadership”, and more. Microsoft took the top spot overall, with Google’s Alphabet coming in third. Apple, however, landed 16th overall and 300th in “workplace communities”....

Apple Music appears to be off to a strong start in terms of paying subscribers, but as the old adage has it, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. A decent chunk of those who have opted not to pay for Apple Music appear to have headed instead to Spotify. TechCrunch notes that Spotify’s iOS app has taken the top grossing spot in Apple’s U.S. App Store for the first time ever....

iHeartRadio is the latest high-profile publisher to join Apple News. The service announced today that its editorial content can now be found on Apple’s News app on iOS. The publication will also be featured in the Entertainment section of the Apple News app, but its editorial content isn’t just limited to music and celebrity gossip as iHeartRadio also covers sports and politics. iHeartRadio — primarily know for its radio streaming service — is widely available on Apple’s various platforms including Apple TV and CarPlay where it recently expanded its podcast support....

Although Apple has its own line of earphones and Beats accessories, the company used to offer third-party headphones in its stores — but this is about to change. A new Bloomberg report reveals that the company no longer sells rival earphones, headphones, or audio accessories, coincidentally ahead of the so-called AirPods Studio announcement. Consumers could find Bose, Sonos, and Logitech accessories in Apple Retail and Online stores, but these products have now been removed from Apple’s website and will soon not be available in their retail stores, either....

From 9to5Toys.com: The online Apple Store is having a clearance of the original iPad for three select WiFi and WiFi + 3G models, including the flagship 64GB WiFi + 3G iPad. Now available for up to $200-$230 less compared to their original list prices, these products come looking like new and with the same 1-year warranty that other Apple products receive. All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell....

Apple CFO Jeff Williams has unveiled the next generation of Apple Watch on stage at its big event today. The new model is called Apple Watch Series 2. Adding to the splash proof feature of the original model, the new Apple Watch is actually swim proof. Apple Watch Series 2 adds swim tracking to the Workouts app including pool swimming and open water swimming. The Apple Watch speaker is the only unsealed part of the casing and it intelligently ejects water after a workout....

When Apple released the first beta of watchOS 2.0 last month following WWDC, users were surprised to learn that there was no way to downgrade from the beta build to the more stable Watch OS 1.0.1. Users tried a variety of different methods, but were ultimately left with one option: send their Watch into Apple and allow them to do the restore. With today’s launch of watchOS 2.0 beta 3, Apple has officially confirmed that there is no way to downgrade to an earlier version of watchOS without sending your device into Apple....

The first antitrust ruling on the legality of Apple’s App Store arrangements could be close. Dutch competition watchdogs have told developers they can expect a decision soon. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is considering two issues… First, should developers be forced to pay the 15% or 30% commission charged by Apple to be in the App Store? Second, should they be banned from advising users of other payment options for in-app purchases?...

Digitimes is not a source noted for its hit-rate, but its claim that Apple, Samsung and HTC are all considering liquid-cooled phones isn’t quite as far-fetched as it sounds: NEC has already launched one. The NEC Medias X 06 E launched last month in Japan was nicknamed the ladyphone, as it was designed to appeal to women who apparently complained about the heat generated by smartphones. The phone itself was nothing special – a 1....

Apple has launched its 2019 Back to School deals with its typical promotion. The company will give students a free pair of Beats headphones when they buy an eligible Apple device. For the first time, the promo includes the high-end Beats Studio 3 over-ear headphones, when buying an iMac or Mac notebook. In addition to launching the 2019 Back to School campaign, Apple updated the MacBook Air with True Tone and the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro....

Apple is facing a lawsuit over the health monitoring features of Apple Watch, a new report from Bloomberg details. Masimo, a medical technology company, accuses Apple of stealing trade secrets and infringing upon 10 of its patents. Masimo filed the lawsuit in a federal court today. The report explains that Apple is being accused of obtaining secret information from Masimo “under the guise of a working relationship.” Apple apparently also poached multiple employees from Masimo for its own health teams....

In an interview with the New York Times, Apple executives Phil Schiller and Eddy Cue revealed that Apple has adjusted the App Store algorithm to ‘handicap’ its own apps from appearing too much in search results. Following press attention from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Apple found that the App Store was deciding to show a lot of Apple apps for common search terms. For instance, a search for ‘music’ would show not only Apple Music but up to seven other first-party apps in the first ten spots....