A new report from the NYPD (via Gothamist) shows crimes involving Apple products in the city have increased 40 percent between Jan. 1 and Sept. 23, which is 10x the 4 percent increase that all crime in the city experienced over the same period. According to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the NYPD, 11,447 incidents involving stolen Apple products were reported in comparison to just 3,280 the year before. We heard similar stats in the past, but Gothamist provided some of the NYPD’s numbers today to show how Apple-related crimes contributed to crime by category this year:...

Apple has published its latest machine learning journal entry with a new article detailing the challenges of implementing facial detection features while maintaining a high level of privacy. The new journal entry explains how the facial detection algorithm works locally on your iPhone without relying on information leaving your device: That requires the right hardware resources to pull off while maintaining efficiency: Apple launched its machine learning journal over the summer and has published multiple entries including one on how “Hey Siri” works on iPhone and Apple Watch....

Apple has apologized following a recent spate of account hacks in China. The company said ‘we are deeply apologetic about the inconvenience caused to our customers by these phishing scams’, which it said affected a ‘small number’ of user accounts. Although details on exactly what happened have not been disclosed, Apple said that the affected accounts were not secured with two-factor authentication. This allowed criminals to phish for account credentials and then extract money using apps like Alipay, as reported last week....

The very first Apple logos have started appearing at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which will be the site of next week’s iPhone 6S/Apple TV event. A few photos have hit Twitter showing the company’s banners being put up in preparation for the event… Update: More images below courtesy of ajlco: [tweet https://twitter.com/Jamesco/status/639895799401443328 align=’center’] Apple has also raised several flags in front of the center, as seen in the photos below....

Apple is looking to hire individuals across the US for a team of IBM Business Development Executives that “will be accountable for all aspects of the Apple and IBM partnership for a defined geographic and account set territory.” That means Apple is hiring a team of individuals that will act as company liaisons to help roll out and oversee sales teams pushing the new Apple/IBM iOS solutions to enterprise customers. The positions, which are industry and region-specific, also show Apple’s plan for the upcoming expansion of its enterprise solutions for new industries including manufacturing and healthcare....

Following the brief acknowledgment of retail consolidation in a statement in February, Apple has officially announced the closure dates of two of its store locations in Texas. On April 12th, Apple Stonebriar in Frisco and Apple Willow Bend in Plano will permanently close their doors. “Thank you for over 17 great years,” reads a message on Apple Willow Bend’s website. A similar statement on the Stonebriar page commemorates more than 9 years of operation....

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced its annual Costume Institute exhibition and gala and Apple again will be one of the sponsors for the event, according to Vogue. The 2017 Met Gala theme will be “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons.” For those unfamiliar, Res Kawakubo is a prominent fashion design, while Comme des Garçons is her label. Apple sponsored its first Met Gala earlier this year, with Jony Ive serving as a co-chair alongside Taylor Swift....

Apple has officially clarified what happened on stage when the first demo of Face ID didn’t go as planned. While many were quick to call it a “fail,” that’s not what happened in the slightest. Apple confirmed the situation in a statement to Yahoo this evening… Apple explained that the demo iPhone X had been handled by several people before being setup at the demo table for Craig Federighi. Face ID had tried to authenticate the faces of everyone who handled the device, and after failing, the iPhone X moved to require a passcode....

You can’t have missed the stories on this bug, which have flown across the Mac web since late last weekend, and grew to a clamor today. We reported the first signs of the problem last week. One suggestion to prevent data loss is for users who had Guest accounts enabled under Leopard and then upgraded to Snow Leopard is to disable the Guest account and then re-enable it. This creates fresh Guest account settings created under Snow Leopard....

DigiTimes reported this morning on the retail channel chatter that suggests a late May launch for iPad 2 in Taiwan. They should know: DigiTimes is a Taiwanese trade publication: The publication also wrote that the wait for the sought-after tablet is causing weak demand for Android slates and tablet PCs in general because a portion of would-be tablet buyers are postponing their purchase until iPad 2 arrives. Nevertheless, first-tier vendors like Asustek and Acer are unable to satisfy all the demand due to the ongoing supply and manufacturing woes, the publication asserted....

While some employees have moved into Apple Park, work is still under way on the new campus. Despite Apple Park providing 2.8 million square feet of office space, Apple is continuing to expand its room for employees with construction underway in two new leased buildings in Santa Clara. Shared today by The Mercury News, the two buildings are relatively small, totaling 77,000 square feet of space. However, this continued expansion is just another sign that Apple’s hiring growth isn’t slowing down....

Apple has launched an array of new watch bands alongside the Apple Watch Series 6, including the new Solo Loop. It comes in a smooth and braided version. The new bands are available in five colors, which pair perfectly with the new colored case options of Apple Watch Series 6. The Solo Loop band is perfectly uniform, with no breaks or indentations. It’s just a smooth loop of flexible rubber. There’s also a braided version for people wanting some texture on their wrist....

Apple has expanded the ability for eligible organizations to apply for developer account fee waivers today to eight more countries, bringing the total to 13 that have the opportunity to get free developer memberships. Apple shared the news on its Developer site today: For the 13 countries in the program, Apple accepts applications for fee waivers for both new and existing developer accounts. Here are the eligibility requirements: The fee waiver saves nonprofits and educational and government institutions $99 per developer account....

According to a report from Karthikk (via AppleInsider) Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices that are running iOS 5. The move may seem unsurprising but we have our doubts, like TUAW. Apple, earlier this week, disabled all iOS 5 devices that were running betas 1 and 2. Our iPad running beta 2 was disabled as well – and it is registered to a developer account. Theoretically, there is no way that Apple could know if a device running iOS 5 is not being used by a developer....

The United States Patent & Trademark Office published an Apple patent application today (via PatentlyApple) detailing new 3D GUI concepts and touch-free, motion sensing gestures that would allow you to simply wave your hand over a device equipped with proximity sensors. This follows a patent application published in July that explores similar 3D gestures and user-interfaces, and another in September detailing 3D display and imaging technology that could lead to Kinect-like gestures on future Apple products....

Apple’s new CarPlay iOS feature has recently arrived through a limited number of in-dash vehicle entertainment systems and aftermarket products, but Apple has now introduced official guidelines for companies building CarPlay hardware through its Made-for-iPhone/iPad/iPod (MFi) licensing program, according to sources. Apple confirms in the specs that CarPlay will only be allowed for in-dash units built into vehicles or through aftermarket installations and that rear-seat or other integrations are not yet permitted....

A rather strange issue with Apple Fitness+ has cropped up in the last twenty four hours or so. On the Apple TV, upon pairing a nearby Apple Watch to start a Fitness+ workout, the Fitness app crashes and the user is sent back to the Apple TV Home Screen. As Apple Fitness+ on the Apple TV only works with an Apple Watch paired, this effectively means the service is unusable right now on the TV for affected users....

Apple is starting its first-ever Entrepreneur Camp for app developers today, bringing in 11 female-founded app development companies and providing tools and resources to help attendees “thrive in today’s global app economy.” Apple says attendees will have “unprecedented access” to Apple’s business and marketing experts and more through Apple labs. Announced through Newsroom, Apple says developers have earned $120 billion collectively since the App Store launched in 2008, with roughly a quarter of that within the past year....

Image via TechCrunch At WWDC today, Apple officially announced the winners of the Apple Design Award for 2018. The company gives the award to applications that it feels best represent the capabilities and goals of its various platforms. Winners this year came from nine countries around the world and include utilities, games, translation apps, and much more. Here are the winners of the 2018 Apple Design Awards: Agenda: Bandimal: Calzy 3: iTranslate Converse: Florence: Playdead’s INSIDE: Alto’s Odyssey: Frost: Oddmar: Winners of Apple’s Design Awards receive a one-of-a-kind aluminum cube, as well as a prize package consisting of:...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has once again made TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People List today after appearances last year and back in 2012 when he first took over the CEO job. On the list for 2016, Cook joins other executives in the tech industry, including: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, among others in categories including Pioneers, Titans, Artists, Leaders, and Icons. Cook’s entry on the list was written by Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger (Apple board member too) who notes that the Apple CEO continues to uphold “the highest ethical standards and routinely challenges the status quo, including encouraging vital conversations about who we are as a culture and a community....