Today Apple has updated the Apple Store app to version 5.12, bringing along a completely redesigned user interface on iPad. The new design takes advantage of the sidebars introduced in iPadOS 14 last summer. Apple has made a number of other changes to the app as well including updates to Today at Apple sessions and the iPad shopping experience. First and foremost, the new design has a sidebar on the left side of the screen that you can choose to hide or show....

The news was confirmed by Rep. David Cicilline’s aides and the report notes that next week’s hearing comes after federal regulators have been looking further into anticompetitive behavior from the major tech companies. Last month, the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim stated: As we previously summarized, Apple is currently in the middle of three antitrust lawsuits, two in the US and one in Europe, all having to do with the App Store....

Apple filed its conflict minerals disclosure today with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in it detailed its process of ethical sourcing of minerals used in Apple products between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013. Apple noted that it has identified 205 smelters and refiners of the “subject materials” that it works to ensure are conflict-free, but also admits it “does not have sufficient information to conclusively determine the country of origin of the Subject Minerals in its products or whether the Subject Minerals are from recycled or scrap sources....

Apple today announced the winners of the 2020 App Store Best award, which recognizes outstanding apps and games for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac. The company also shared its traditional list of the most popular apps of 2020. Best Apps of 2020 Wakeout! was chosen the best iPhone app of 2020, which was developed by independent developer Andres Canella. The app brings fast and light exercises that can be performed by anyone in home offices and classrooms....

Apple has purchased a small California-based startup called Tueo Health, CNBC reports. The health-focused company further expands Apple’s medical-related portfolio. Here’s how the firm described their mission prior to joining Apple: According to CNBC’s sources, the firm was “developing a system to help parents monitor asthma symptoms in sleeping children,” and you can imagine how Apple might be able to advance that goal. Tueo Health is a relatively small startup with fewer than a dozen employees since being founded four years ago, according to LinkedIn....

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrxtbB-z2Sc] Apple premiered two new TV ads for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus tonight featuring the duo of Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. The first of the two, “Reservations,” shows off iOS 8’s new Continuity features that allow users to place phone calls from any iCloud-connected device. In the ad, Timberlake uses a Mac and iPad to call Fallon’s iPhone, while Fallon answers the calls in a phony French accent....

Apple and Intel both declined an invitation to invest in a new round of funding for patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures, reports Reuters. Both companies had invested in the enterprise in the past. Intellectual Ventures did, however, receive further investments from both Microsoft and Sony. As a frequent target of patent trolls, it seemed an odd investment for Apple in the first place, and was most likely a simple protective measure: we’ll help fund you if you leave us alone....

Apple has published its latest Supplier Responsibility Report today and along with the usual updates on how its partners are doing when it comes to keeping workplaces safe and respectful for employees. However, this edition includes specifics on how Apple has modified procedures at its suppliers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. TechCrunch first shared a detailed look into the new Supplier Responsibility Report that Apple just made available. Notably, it looks to be the first time that Senior Vice President of Operations Sabih Khan has written a public-facing piece since taking the role last year....

It turns out yesterday’s report about Apple buying Color for “high double digit millions” was mostly off base. At least that is according to AllThingsD: The engineers could help with Apple’s photo and video-sharing capabilities across devices, or maybe Apple is just getting a HR jump on the competition in the red hot Silicon Valley talent marketplace. Apple is not buying Color’s technology, intellectual property, domain names or liabilities. Those are being left with the company, which still has considerable cash in the bank — something like $25 million — and is going to be wound down....

Apple is due to announce its fiscal Q4 (calendar Q3) earnings today at 2pm PT/5pm ET, and the news isn’t expected to be good. The company’s own guidance calls for a third consecutive quarter of year-on-year declining revenue. That would mean total revenue for its 2016 fiscal year of around $215B, 8% down on the previous year – making it the company’s first year-on-year decline since 2001 … Re/code reports that the analyst consensus expectation is for quarterly revenue of $47B based on around 45M iPhone sales, 5M Macs and 8....

Along with the new iPhone 4S this afternoon, Apple has announced a new program called AppleCare+ that covers the iPhone for up-to two accidents. The new program costs $99, and on top of accident coverage you get the AppleCare usuals, like phone support and Genius Bar appointments. Don’t think you’ll be getting off that easy, as each accident will be an additional $49. AppleCare+ is available October 14th, the same day as the iPhone 4S....

According to a new report from The New York Times, Apple has hired Google’s chief of search and artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea. Tim Cook made the announcement in an email to employees, noting that Giannandrea will officially be the head of “machine learning and A.I. strategy.” Giannandrea will report directly to Tim Cook. He originally joined Google after the company acquired a startup called Metaweb, where he served as chief technology officer....

With the introduction of Apple’s new lower-cost iPhone 5c starting at $99 and its new iPhone 5s, Apple announced today that it would continue selling the iPhone 4S for $0 on contract. While the iPhone 5c is expected to be a big hit in emerging markets, it appears that Apple will also continue to sell the iPhone 4 in China. As of right now the company is continuing to offer the device on its Chinese website, although Apple has not made an official announcement regarding continued availability of the iPhone 4....

Apple is creating in Chongqing, China, what appears to be a smaller version of its iconic glass cylinder Apple Store in Shanghai. ifo Apple Store shared a series of photos as the wraps came off what is set to be Apple’s third retail store in the Chongqing region, which has a total population of more than 28 million people. The first Apple Store in Chongqing opened in July of last year, and a second one is under construction....

After first launching its new Machine Learning Journal for Apple engineers to share with the community, today the Siri team has shared three new blog posts based on research being presented at Interspeech 2017 in Stockholm this week. One blog post titled “Deep Learning for Siri’s Voice: On-device Deep Mixture Density Networks for Hybrid Unit Selection Synthesis” details the evolution of Siri’s voice right up to iOS 11 and the process Apple uses for speech synthesis....

Apple has announced that is leading a $50 million investment round in company UnitedMasters, a firm that aims to help independent artists establish careers in the music business. This includes keeping rights to their actual recording masters, as well as enable individuals to easily sell tickets, merchandise and similar efforts. Presumably, the ‘strategic partnership’ will lead to new integrations with Apple Music eventually, although UnitedMasters supports publishing to many platforms including Spotify, TikTok and such....

Apple issued a press release on Wednesday to announce the iTunes Store hit a new record with 25 billion songs sold. Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue noted Apple averaged 15,000 songs downloaded per minute, while the iTunes Store is now home to 26 million songs in 119 countries. Apple also gave away a €10,000 iTunes Gift Card to iTunes user Phillip Lüpke from Germany for downloading the 25 billionth song, “Monkey Drums” (Goksel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch....

A report today claims that the Apple AR headset launch won’t be taking place until 2022 — some two years later than has previously been suggested. The information was reportedly announced to team members at an internal presentation in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. The report suggests the Cupertino company plans a two-stage launch for the product that has been colloquially referenced as Apple Glasses. Updated with more details below …...

Apple Card approvals levels are unusually high, according to a new report today, with some sub-prime borrowers having their applications accepted. The report also says that Apple first considered launching its own credit card in the 1990s, but Steve Jobs was concerned about rejecting Apple customers… CNBC cites both unnamed sources involved in the project, as well as customer reports. The piece says that while there is no official definition of sub-prime, a credit score of less than 670 would typically be one indication....

During WWDC last year, Apple introduced a brand new set of configurable symbols and a companion macOS app called SF Symbols. Following that introduction, Apple has released SF Symbols 2 in conjunction with WWDC 2020 with over 750 new symbols and more. The configurable symbols included in the SF Symbols app are designed to integrate with Apple’s system font, San Francisco. The symbols can be used across iOS 14, watchOS 7, macOS Big Sur, and tvOS 14....