While Apple may have waited for the iPhone 5s before it introduced Touch ID, it’s been working on the technology since shortly after the launch of the original iPhone. A patent first filed in 2007 was finally granted today, and includes the use of a fingerprint sensor in laptops – though the drawing Apple used to illustrate the concept seemingly dates back even further than 2007! The patent also covers use in desktop computers, aka the iMac today, embedding the sensor into the keyboard … A finger sensing apparatus may include a finger sensor including an integrated circuit (IC) substrate, an array of finger sensing elements on the IC substrate, and match circuitry on the IC substrate for performing final finger matching....

Apple today announced its Q4 2014 earnings results reporting that the company earned $42.1 billion in revenue and $8.5 billion in profit during the quarter. In addition to reporting its earnings, Apple has disclosed sales numbers for its main revenue generators. The company sold: iPhone: 39.272 million, up 16.2% iPad: 12.316 million, down 12.5% Mac: 5.52 million, up 20.7% iPod: 2.62 million, down 25.1% iTunes: $4.208 billion, up 8.2% Accessories: $1....

Apple this evening has shared another ad in its long-running Shot on iPhone campaign. This ad is unique from others in the series in that it features a narration from astronomer Carl Sagan, reading from his book “Pale Blue Dot.” Sagan’s narration is overlaid onto a variety of different videos, all of which were shot with an iPhone. The videos are set to a white background with the original videographer credited below....

Apple is slowly expanding the Look Around feature that was introduced last year with iOS 13. Previously available only in the United States, the company is now making Look Around available to some Japanese cities. Look Around, which is available within Apple Maps, works basically like Google’s Street View. Users can explore all the streets across the city through high-resolution 3D photographs, as well as zoom in on specific areas....

According to TIME, U2’s partnership with Apple goes far beyond a free album in your iTunes library, much to the chagrin of some users. The group is reportedly working with Apple on a ‘secret project’ to rejuvenate digital music scales. Details, however, are thin on the ground. Bono is quoted as saying he is developing a new music format that will somehow inspire consumers to buy complete albums once more. Without more information, it’s impossible to tell whether this is a silly pipe dream or an actual possibility....

The Apple Arcade service was originally touted to contain exclusive titles, but the terms of that exclusivity only refer to other mobile services, which means that Apple Arcade titles can also appear on consoles and PC. Apple Arcade is a gaming subscription service that costs $4.99 a month and will give subscribers access to over one hundred games, which can be played across a number of different iOS devices. The gaming world is bracing itself for a rush of new streaming services that are attempting to become the Netflix equivalent for video games....

We reported in February that Apple acquired discovery app Chomp and was thought to be using the company’s technology to help improve the App Store and iTunes experience. We later confirmed Chomp’s CEO Ben Keighran and CTO Cathy Edwards already started working at Apple on the iTunes teams. Today, it appears Apple has shut down Chomp for Android with Chomp’s website now only listing links to iOS versions of the app, as noted by GigaOM....

[UPDATE: Interview preview below…] CNBC has announced that it will have an exclusive interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook tonight on Mad Money with Jim Cramer. The sit down interview will air at 6pm ET and follows yesterday’s quarterly earnings report. Cook joined Cramer for a post-earnings interview this time last year as well to reassure investors after an earnings miss that upset Wall Street. This year it’s largely the iPhone that Apple is addressing as sales slipped year-over-year and came in slightly below Apple’s high-end estimate....

While Apple customers in major metropolitan areas are often in reach of an Apple Store when it comes time to make a device repair appointment, those outside of city centers or regions without Apple Authorized Service Providers are left with few options. To give more customers access to safe and reliable repairs, Apple today announced that it has now expanded its authorized service network to every Best Buy location in the United States....

According to Macotakara.jp, Apple has finished work on test units of a 15-inch LCD for an upcoming ultra-thin laptop from Apple. The report calls the new machine a 15-inch MacBook Air, but in all likelihood it’s a thinner 15-inch MacBook Pro. The report also says that this new MacBook Pro will lose the optical drive, which seems like the direction Apple is heading towards. The new machine as a whole was reportedly in late testing stages since July, but today’s report means Apple is already done with testing and moving towards test production of the computers....

According to multiple reports out of France, Apple is constructing a dedicated display for the upcoming Apple Watch in some upscale Paris-based retail outlets. The reports say that the size of the display is close to the length of a few small balconies and that Apple Retail Senior Vice President Angela Ahrendts has been directing the construction of the booth at retailer Galeries Lafayette on Champs Elysees. While these claims for France are still unconfirmed, sources have told us that Apple is considering constructing dedicated Apple Watch retail stores in the future if demand deems such outlets necessary…...

Late Wednesday night, Apple quietly removed the fourth-generation iPod touch from their online store, replacing it instead with a modified version of the current generation. The new model features only a few differences from the fifth-gen, but the omissions are significant. The updated music player features a 4-inch Retina display like that found on the current model as well as a dual-core A5 processor, but lacks the rear-facing iSight and loop attachment....

Apple has been summoned to answer questions in the Korean parliament late this month to explain the company’s repair and replacement policy for the iPhone. Apple’s senior director for Apple’s iPhone service, Farrel Farhoudi, is scheduled to appear in the Korean parliament on October 21. At issue: South Korean iPhone customers are complaining because Apple appears to have a practice of “mostly” giving refurbished iPhones to customers with faulty devices, instead of offering free repairs, neew replacements or refunds....

A security researcher who found a security hole in Safari says that Apple has still not fixed it, more than three months after he informed the company. The same vulnerability was present in Microsoft’s Edge browser, but the company issued a patch a month ago … The flaw results in Safari showing the URL of a safe website like gmail.com while the user has in fact been sent to an attack site....

Apple has today been granted a patent for an Apple Watch charging carrying case which works like the AirPods case – providing somewhere to store the Watch when not in use, while simultaneously recharging it. The design is significantly different to that offered with the original $10k+ Apple Watch Edition. While a charging case for a device typically worn all day might sound less useful than the AirPods case, it makes more sense when you read the details …...

Apple today has officially reported its fiscal Q2 2020 earnings amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We already knew that Apple wouldn’t hit the guidance it originally provided for the quarter, and today’s release provides the official numbers. How did the COVID-19 outbreak affect Apple’s business during Q2 2020? The company has announced revenue of $58.3 billion and profit of $11.25 billion. This compares to $58 billion in revenue and $11.56 billion profit reported in the same quarter last year....

Apple is expanding its Everyone Can Code initiative to make it easier for elementary and middle school students to get started in the world of coding. Apple is introducing new curriculum for the program and expanding the availability of Today at Apple coding sessions. Apple says the new curriculum includes new materials for students, teachers, and more: Furthermore, from December 1 through December 15, Apple Stores around the world will increase Today at Apple coding sessions to celebrate Computer Science Education Week....

Several years late, Apple is finally dropping support for logging into the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore via an AOL username and password. Apple has emailed users with AOL accounts attached to iTunes to indicate that login support will end on March 31, 2015. Users have until then to convert their AOL login accounts to Apple IDs for iTunes services. Apple recently posted a support document with instructions on converting an AOL login to an Apple ID....

European Union regulators today announced the launch of a formal investigation of Samsung over mobile patents to determine whether the South Korean conglomerate breached EU antitrust rules in its legal dealings with competitors. The investigation is focused on so-called FRAND patents, a common rule that stipulates a patent applying to the standard must be adopted on “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms” (FRAND). According to the press release, EU regulators want to figure out whether Samsung “used certain of its standard essential patent rights to distort competition in European mobile device markets, in breach of EU antitrust rules....

Apple shared new numbers for the App Store today announcing that last week set a new record for App Store billings. According to the company, customers have spent almost $500 million dollars through app and in-app purchases over the App Store through the first week in January.. In addition to the company’s App Store record announcement, Apple has presented a new microsite focused on its job creation efforts. Apple described its previous year as record breaking for the App Store noting a 50% increase in billings, developers earning more than $10 billion collectively from revenue, and $25 billion cumulatively earned from app sales in total....