Update 2: The changes appear to be EU wide as pictured above. Update: Apple updated its warranty policy in France and Germany too. (Thanks @settebit) Belgian consumer groups have been following the move of Italian regulators in recent months to push Apple for changes to its warranty programs in order to clarify rules regarding a statutory warranty enforced by EU law that requires companies to make sure products are free from defects for two years....

Last month, a leaked internal service document revealed that Apple’s T2 security chip can prevent some third-party repairs for Mac users. While details were unclear at the time, and it seemed as if the policy wasn’t necessarily in full effect just yet, Apple today confirmed its existence to The Verge. As explained last month, a repair document distributed to Apple Authorized Service Providers explained that the hardware repair process on a T2-equipped Mac is not complete until Apple’s AST 2 System Configuration software has been run....

BGR says that Apple will wait until WWDC to announce Back to School specials and they will be largely the same as year’s past (free iPod touch/w purchase of Mac) with the notable addition of getting $200 off the purchase of an iPad with the purchase of a Mac. Apple has traditionally had a back to school announcements during this time of year (‘06, ‘07, ‘08, ‘09, ‘10), though never at WWDC which seems at first blush to be a strange venue for such an announcement....

Apple has revealed in its annual Supplier Responsibility Progress Report that it has informed four smelters–who provide metals used in the production of the company’s devices–that they will be dropped from the supply chain after refusing to submit to “conflict mineral” audits … The audits are designed to ensure that the extraction of the minerals used does not finance armed groups associated with human rights violations: Unfortunately, even after extensive encouragement, there were four smelters that were unwilling to commit to be audited by a third party, so Apple put these smelters on notice that they will be removed from our supply chain....

Patently Apple reports that Apple has applied for a patent related to a wearable electrocardiographic (ECG) device that could take the form of a watch, ring, brooch or similar. The reason the patent application emphasizes use on either left or right side of the body is that the patent focuses on an issue that can arise when taking readings from only one side of the body … A wearable device can be affixed to a limb of the human body such as a wrist or ankle, as an example....

A brief report claims that Apple will be adding a Chinese NAND storage chip supplier to its roster. The company has in the past bought these chips from Toshiba, SK Hynix and Samsung, but is now said to be in talks with Yangtze Memory Technologies. The report is light on detail, but does make one interesting claim … From Reuters, citing a Nikkei report: Adding an extra supplier isn’t surprising. NAND chips are one of the components that have been in short supply globally, and Apple likes to diversify its suppliers to protect supplies and improve its negotiating power – but it’s surprising that it would devote any component to devices destined for a particular country....

As is the norm nowadays, the Apple Events channel has appeared on the Apple TV ahead of Apple’s Spring Forward event later today. From 10 AM PDT, Apple will be live streaming the entire presentation, for those not lucky enough to be there in person. A big part of today’s ‘Spring Forward’ presentation will feature more specific details about the Apple Watch. Pricing and availability will almost certainly be mentioned. Also expect several demos from app developers so Apple can demonstrate the wide range of potential this new form factor provides....

After the unveiling of Apple Watch during the Sept. 9 iPhone launch event, Apple announced WatchKit for Apple Watch. This is a new development kit will allow developers to create interesting and exciting ways to use the Apple Watch hardware and software in their apps. WatchKit allows integration for Actionable notifications, WatchKit apps, and Glances. During the keynote, Apple demonstrated Facebook and Twitter functionality with Apple Watch along with other apps with the ability to unlock a hotel door, get transit directions, post to Pinterest, find your car, change the temperature with a Honeywell thermostat, and use Nike fitness features....

Following up on Tumblr’s own implementation of Live Photos for the web, Apple has released an official Live Photos JavaScript API. Developers will now be able to use the API to share Live Photos playback on iOS, macOS, and now the web. From Apple’s introduction: The new LivePhotosKit JS API is available on NPM with code samples shared in the new API reference. In the new documentation, Apple includes examples on how to get Live Photo assets up and running online....

The latest development in the almost decade-long battle between VirnetX and Apple could see the latter have to pay up to $1.1 billion in total damages. That’s the result of US District Judge Robert Schroeder today denying Apple’s request for a new trial along with other requests. Reported by Reuters, today’s decision by Judge Schroeder may mean the reality of Apple paying a total sum of over $1 billion to VirnetX over infringed VPN patents – something that we reported on as possible back in December....

On the heels of winning an Apple Design Award at WWDC21, the wonderful Pok Pok Playroom app for kids is getting its first update since launching in May. The all-new toy arriving today is House. Pok Pok launched with six lovely toys to encourage creative and imaginative play for kids. Here’s my conclusion after testing Pok Pok with my four-year-old ahead of the launch this spring: Today’s update with House brings another engaging, handcrafted space to play and get creative....

A new report from reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today says that at least one of the new iPhones introduced in 2020 will have a smaller front-facing camera cutout, making for an improved screen to body ratio and a smaller notch. This would imply that the notch cutout on at least one of the 2020 iPhones will be significantly smaller (via MyDrivers). It’s unclear based on Kuo’s report if this design trend could extend to all of the new iPhones in 2020....

In the latest release of its iOS Security document spotted by TechCrunch, Apple offers a number of details about the function and processes of the Touch ID fingerprint recognition system offered on its iPhone 5s. The document describes the Secure Enclave, “a coprocessor fabricated in the Apple A7 chip,” which manages safely matching active fingerprints read by Touch ID against registered fingerprints saved by the user. While much of how Touch ID behaves was revealed last fall when the iPhone 5s was introduced and through experience, the white page does list more specifics than have previously been made available…...

BGR has nabbed a bunch of photos of a purported white T-Mobile USA iPhone 4 test unit. The phone looks virtually identical to the current iPhone 4 and runs a version of iOS 4. You can tell that it’s a test unit by the several field-testing settings and applications on the device. The device is obviously a prototype unit, not a production model, and that is evidenced by the prototype markings on the back of the device....

Apple today has officially announced the winner of its $10,000 iTunes gift card giveaway in a press release after reaching 50 billion app downloads yesterday. And the app that marked the 50 billionth download goes to: Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC. Lucky winner Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio will be receiving a $10,000 App Store gift card for his download. Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue provided the following statement:...

After several rumors, Apple today finally announced the sixth generation Apple TV, the company’s set-top box. While keeping the same design, the product comes with the more powerful A12 chip, a new Remote, and more. The new Apple TV was announced Tuesday during Apple’s special event “Spring loaded.” Powered by the A12 Bionic chip, the new sixth-generation Apple TV is now ready to run all the games from the App Store and Apple Arcade....

With Apple Arcade launching later this month, a lot of general public attention has been drawn to the service, which will be available for $4.99 per month with a one-month free trial. However, there has been some confusion about what being exclusive to Apple Arcade actually means … Apple Arcade gives you unlimited access to 100+ games available in the service with no additional purchases or in-app ads. You can play online or offline, and games are available across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac....

Apple is one of over 200 companies that have signed an amicus brief that calls on the Supreme Court to rule that existing job discrimination laws also cover LGBTQ workers. As detailed by Axios, the Supreme Court will take up that case during its next session. In the brief, the companies write that they “are committed to equal treatment and equal opportunity of employees regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity”:...

Apple announced at its special event last month a new feature called “Apple Card Family,” which, as the name suggests, lets users share the same Apple Card with other family members via iCloud Family Sharing. While this new feature is not yet available to users, Apple this week shared a new support article with more details about Apple Card Family. We already know that the Apple Card owner can invite up to five family members to share the card, and also that a spending limit can be set for each user....

Apple made Greg Christie, one of its original iPhone engineers, available before yet another round of patent fights with Samsung, allowing Christie to further expand on the stories of the iPhone’s secretive development under then-CEO Steve Jobs in a report by the Wall Street Journal. While some of what Christie said isn’t new information, there are some interesting anecdotes near the end of his interview. For example, in 2005—two years before the Apple went public with the iPhone—Christie’s team was responsible for planning how the device would look and work....