Posts

CEO Tim Cook confirmed at the iPhone 4S unveiling shipments of 250 million iOS devices since the original iPhone went on sale in the summer of 2007. The iPhone 4S, the latest and greatest new model, has marked a shift in focus from hardware to software and online services. Siri, the iPhone 4S’s intelligent personal assistant advertised as its killer feature, requires significant computing power on the phone, but it also taps the power of the cloud....

The barrage of applications taking advantage of Apple’s enterprise certificate program continues today. Reuters reports that software distributors have been using the program to share modified versions of popular apps, such as an ad-free version of Spotify. According to the report, software distributors including TutuApp, Panda Helper, AppValley and TweakBox have been using the enterprise certificate program to distribute modified apps. For example, AppValley offers a version of Spotify that does not include advertisements – even on the free tier....

Update: Apple has uploaded its new “Change Everything” ad to YouTube, as well. It’s embedded below. Apple has debuted its newest iPad marketing campaign, “Change Everything,” with a 1:30 commercial and a new website highlighting the apps that change the way people go about their daily lives. The ad starts off with a list of things that have changed since the release of the first iPad, such as small businesses and education....

The Apple Developer portal has gone down ahead of Apple’s WWDC event later today, where Apple will announce its next-generation software platforms for Apple Watch, iOS and OS X. Posters from within the venue show that Watch OS will feature prominently as a newly rebranded as ‘watchOS’. Update: The Beta Software Program page has also gone down — potentially indicating that iOS 9 or OS X 10.11 will be made available as public betas today....

(Penrith Store – Image Flicker via Macrumors) Current (via TNW) received some fun Apple Store stats for us this morning on the occasion of the Apple Store Opening in Penrith Sydney, Australia. The country’s first Apple-operated retail outlet opened doors for business 2008 in Sydney. As you know, Apple recently celebrated ten years in retail business. Their retail chief Ron Johnson, credited with turning a risky gamble into a highly profitable business, recently left Apple for JC Penney, where he is due to assume the CEO role February 1 next year....

After years of featuring the same, arguably stale design, Apple has redesigned the Apple ID web portal with a friendlier, modern look. The updated website now features product imagery including a girl wearing an Apple Watch Sport while using an iPhone and a MacBook can be seen with the logo illuminated in the background. The previous landing page featured app icons for iCloud, the App Store, iBooks, and other services that use Apple IDs, which were updated from iOS 6 to iOS 7 while the layout remained the same....

It’s not always the easiest task to compare an iOS device with one running Android. Most people choose one platform or another as a personal preference or an investment into the ecosystem that provides what they need. Today we’re comparing the Motorola-made Google Nexus 6 to Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus. There are benefits to each side, but which one is right for you? We’re going to be comparing the design, specifications, features, and camera performance between these two flagship phablets....

Patently Apple reports that the US Patent & Trademark Office has refused Apple’s application for a trademark in Touch ID. The decision – made in May but only now made public – is because another company already holds a trademark for Kronos Touch ID, and there is a “likelihood of confusion” given the very similar names. A search of the USPTO trademark database shows that the Kronos Touch ID trademark also related to a fingerprint recognition system, and that it has held the trademark since 2001:...

Apple has announced today that it is launching Apple Teacher Portfolio, a new “professional learning recognition badge educators can earn through Apple Teacher Learning Center.” The company also has updates in store for the Everyone Can Create curriculum, Schoolwork, and Classroom apps. Apple describes the new Apple Teacher Portfolio as a “recognition badge” that educators are able to learn through the Apple Teaching Learning Center. The process is self-paced and designed to help teachers implement different strategies:...

Apple announced a new Sign in with Apple button as part of its iOS 13 announcements. The button offers Apple ID single-sign on functionality similar to sign-in buttons from Twitter, Facebook or Google. Apple is marketing this as a privacy-secure sign-in option. Apple will mask user email addresses and other personal information, whilst still allowing the apps to contact users indirectly. Users select what information to share with the destination app....

Apple today is rolling out an update to the Apple Music app for Android users. The update continues to bring the app up to speed with its iOS counterpart and adds support for music videos and family memberships. The update follows the addition of widget support last month for the Android Apple Music app. With support for family plans, users can now subscribe or update to a six-person family membership, which is arguably one of the best features about Apple Music....

A new patent application published today by the United States Patent & Trademark Office details a system Apple could use to automatically configure security and other settings of a device based on its location or the habits of its user (Google filed for the same patent 2 months prior but who’s counting?). The majority of the patent discusses intelligently adjusting settings by detecting a device’s location while using retinal scans, DNA, fingerprints, or other biosensors to present an appropriate level of security to the user:...

The great iOS app, Apollo for Reddit has been updated today to take advantage of iOS 13. The new release brings support for Dark Mode and new game controllers, Siri Shortcuts with parameters, improved speed, Accessibility features, and much more. Apollo for Reddit 1.6 arrives after version 1.5 landed just earlier this month with a bunch of great improvements. The latest update leverages the improvements that come with iOS 13 like the system-wide Dark Mode, support for new game controllers from Xbox and Playstation, Siri Shortcuts with parameters, reduced app size, and improved speed....

Apple CEO Tim Cook made a surprise appearance on “The Tonight Show” yesterday. Cook joined Jimmy Fallon and Lady Gaga via FaceTime, committing that Apple will make a donation to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The lighthearted video, which aired on last night’s episode of “The Tonight Show,” features Lady Gaga making an impromptu FaceTime call to Tim Cook. The goal of the call was to confirm Apple’s donation to the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund....

Update: Official photos shared by Apple (above) show the new store under wraps ahead of opening. See more in the gallery below. After well over a year of planning and construction, Apple’s first ever retail store in Austria has an opening date set for February 24th, according to a teaser page on Apple’s retail website. It was first reported in August 2016 that Apple was finalizing contracts to establish their retail presence in Austria’s capital of Vienna....

Update: A reader got a reply from Apple CEO Tim Cook about the situation. See below. Apple has today posted a press release reaffirming that Apple Watch try-on sessions and preorders start tomorrow, Friday April 10th. It also confirms that Apple Watch orders will be exclusively online for the launch period. Angela Ahrendts says that Apple expects demand to outstrip supply at launch on the back of tremendous interest from customers viewing watches online and in the Apple Store app....

Apple, just a week and a half after initially introducing its new ad campaign, has today shared another new iPhone ad. The video advertisement is part of the “If it’s not an iPhone, it’s not an iPhone” campaign and focuses on the App Store that comes along with owning an iPhone. In the ad, Apple touts that there are more than 1.5 million apps available for iPhone, all of which are “hand-picked, awe-inspiring, and just plain surprising....

Analyst Ben Thompson believes that US antitrust legislation could put the Apple ecosystem at risk unless the company is prepared to compromise on the App Store. The danger is that legislators may view the various ecosystem components as anti-competitive, but would be less likely to do so without the App Store playing such a central role … Background We recently summarized the background to some new planned antitrust legislation in the US....

Apple is currently aiming to unveil the new 4-inch the iPhone 5se, the iPad Air 3, and new Apple Watch band options at an event on Tuesday, March 15th, according to sources. We previously reported that Apple was on track to launch the new products during the week of March 14th. As the scheduled event is still a month-and-a-half away, the date could conceivably still shift or turn into an online announcement....

What’s changed though, is that the new model is just 16GB (as compared to 32GB and 64GB), and doesn’t have any rear camera (as compared to 5-megapixel shooter in the earlier model). And yes, it has lost some weight too (0.06 ounces). It seems Apple has decided to discontinue the sales of the older 4th generation iPod touch in favor of this new model, which is available to order in US apple online store for $229 with shipping in less than 24 hours....