After a few days of rumors, it is now official. TSMC announced in a press release that it intends to build a chip factory in the United States, specifically in Arizona. Construction is expected to begin in 2021 and the first chips from the fab could be manufactured in 2024. TSMC is the exclusive manufacturer of the A-series chips Apple uses in its iOS devices. Apple has led the mobile industry in performance thanks to its shift towards designing custom chip silicon and getting TSMC to mass-produce its designs has also paid off in a big way....

Electric car battery manufacturer A123 Systems is currently locked in a lawsuit with Apple over whether the latter poached employees from the former while building out its Project Titan team. Today Reuters reports that Apple is considering a settlement in the case. Apple has asked for an extension on the time required to respond to the suit, telling the court that it is currently “exploring a potential resolution.” Of course, it’s hardly unexpected that the company should try to settle out of a potentially costly legal battle....

Ahead of WWDC 2021 kicking off next week, Apple today has officially announced the finalists for the annual Apple Design Awards. This year, Apple is dividing the finalists into six different categories: Inclusivity, Delight and Fun, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Innovation. In the past, Apple has not pre-announced the finalists for the Apple Design Awards, but it’s changing that precedent this year. The company explains: Here are the finalists across each of those categories....

Apple borrowed $14B though a new bond issue with terms of up to 40 years. The company said only that the money will be used for “general corporate purpose,” but it’s believed the bulk of it will be used to allow the company to buy back more of its own stock and to pay higher dividends. Although a cash-rich company, Apple still borrows money for a couple of reasons …...

Much like it has done in recent years, Apple’s annual ‘Lucky Bag’ sale through Apple retail stores is about to kick off in Japan. The tradition is something that many retailers in the country take part in by offering a mystery bag of goods that are often sold for much less than the total sum of the goods inside. This year the lucky bag sale at Apple retail stores in the country will officially kick off on January 2, as highlighted on its website....

Apple has made it clear that augmented reality is a big area of focus as it moves forward, and analysts are beginning to agree. As noted by CNBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch believes that AR could turn into an $8 billion revenue stream for Apple… The analysts explain that AR applications are likely to “command a price premium” for developers, leading to increased revenue for Apple as well. Mohan went on to explain that the “revenue opportunity” for Apple is between $6 billion to $8 billion....

Apple has been steadily preparing the Moscone Center in San Francisco for its Worldwide Developer Conference all week long. Today banners for iOS 7 appeared featuring a very colorful and thin “7” denoting the version of the software Apple will preview on Monday. The dots in the banners above likely represent the transparent nature of the OS. We’ll be in San Francisco bringing you the latest news from WWDC all next week!...

Apple and Stanford Medicine today announced the results of the Apple Heart Study. The study enrolled over 400,000 participants, making it the “largest study ever of its kind,” according to Apple. The findings were presented in New Orleans this morning. The goal of the study, Apple says, was to evaluate Apple Watch’s irregular rhythm notification. If an irregular rhythm was detected, participants received a telehealth consultation with a doctor and an electrocardiogram patch for additional supervision....

Apple has announced today that the Apple Watch SDK, WatchKit, will be available to developers starting next month. While Apple has partnered with many developers who have already gotten started developing apps, this release will allow anyone with access to Xcode the ability to start making software for Apple’s smartwatch. The software development kit will cover all kinds of apps, going beyond just watch faces. For example, an app from BMW is already being developed that will show you things about the status of your car on your wrist....

Live from the WWDC keynote presentation, Apple just unveiled the next version of of the Mac OS X and with it introduced some big changes for the operating system including a significantly redesigned user interface. The new release is called OS X Yosemite. In the months leading up to today’s event, we exclusively detailed many of the enhancements Apple showed off today on stage including the redesigned interface that introduces a sharper and flatter look making it more similar to iOS than any previous versions of the Mac operating system....

Apple has announced today that it is upgrading the MacBook Pro with faster 8th- and 9th-generation Intel Core processors. This revision marks the first time that the MacBook Pro has been available in an 8-core configuration. The new MacBook Pro models also feature a revised keyboard design. The new 8-core MacBook Pros deliver two times faster performance than a quad-core MacBook Pro and 40 percent more performance than a 6-core MacBook Pro....

Today, Apple has rolled out a new two-step verification service for iCloud and Apple ID users. This functionality greatly enhances the security of Apple accounts because it requires users to use a trusted device and an extra security code. This security code can be sent via SMS or via the Find my iPhone iOS app (if it is installed). Users can now setup two-step authentication on their devices via the Apple ID website....

Following Apple’s revision to its Q1 2019 earnings guidance earlier today, the company is being investigated by Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a “nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm” for potential securities fraud. The firm alleges that Apple executives made misleading comments about the company’s performance in China. Bernstein Liebhard says that it is investigating potential securities fraud claims “on behalf of shareholders of Apple.” The alleged fraud results from “allegations that Apple and/or its executives may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public”...

Apple brand loyalty among smartphone owners has hit an all-time high, according to a survey by SellCell. It shows that 91.9% of iPhone owners plan to buy another iPhone when they next upgrade, up 1.4% from 2019. Samsung, in contrast, has seen its own brand loyalty plunge … SellCell says that only 74% of Samsung smartphone owners plan to buy another Samsung model, down from 85.7% in 2019. iPhone owners gave four reasons for sticking with Apple:...

At it’s peak, the iPad 2 shipped in 4-5 weeks from the Apple online store in the United States. Now, Apple’s second-generation tablet is shipping in only 1-2 weeks. It seems that Apple is really clearing up any production, supply, or shipping issues that they may have had. Apple stores are still a difficult place to find an iPad 2, so with a 1-2 week shipping time, the online store may just be your best bet....

For starters, you can, say, tell Siri to set an alarm clock just by saying “wake me up at 6 AM”. Or, you could ask Siri something like “What time is it in Paris?” and it will speak aloud “The time in Paris, France is 8:16 PM” How nice is that? How about asking Siri “Do I need a raincoat today”? Sure, you can do that and it’ll respond “It sure looks like rain today”....

Apple today has announced that its App Analytics feature now supports tvOS apps. This means that developers can get more detail on how users are responding to and using their apps on the fourth-gen Apple TV. Developers can see how many views their App Store product page is receiving, track marketing campaign, get app usage information, and track in-app purchase success. By tracking campaign links, developers can see how successful their marketing campaigns have been by checking how being a promoted app has affected downloads....

Apple has long been lauded for their dedication to creating accessible products, and Tim Cook has even called accessibility a “core value” of the company. Now, Apple is giving back to their own local community by partnering with the Magical Bridge Foundation to support the development of a new accessible playground in Sunnyvale, CA. Magical Bridge Playgrounds are a recent initiative spearheaded by Silicon Valley parents to bring innovative and inclusive playgrounds to schools and communities in the Bay Area....

Apple retail workers are not required to submit a doctor’s note for this time off. This means that if they’re experiencing the COVID-19 symptoms, they can take the time that they need without having to worry about running out of sick days or providing a note to management. As of right now, Apple retail stores are staying open during the coronavirus outbreak. Apple, however, is implementing crowd control measures to reduce density, such as limiting Genius Bar openings and canceling many Today at Apple sessions....

With Apple reporting all-time record high iPhone sales and revenue in its earnings call yesterday, IDC’s latest data out today confirms that the company surpassed Samsung to take the top spot in the fourth quarter of last year. That was despite, as IDC notes, a first full year of decline for iPhone with a 7% drop year-over-year for 2016: Apple’s iPhone sales of 78.3 million units in the fourth quarter was a 4....