Update: The Apple Store Black Friday Event is now live in the USA, with the expected US dollar card values. In time for Black Friday, Apple has announced a four-day ‘shopping event.’ So far, it has gone live in Australia, where it is already Friday. This offers gift cards ranging in value from A$35 ($25) to A$280 ($200) when you purchase a wide range of products – but don’t expect any deals on the latest models....
Apple has announced that iAd is now available in nine additional countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. This means iAd is now available in a total of twenty-five countries spanning North America, Europe and Asia. Apple says that it continues to support iAd to help developers make more money. It’s not a stretch to say that the initiative has not met expectations and now primarily serves commercials for iTunes Radio....
Every summer, Apple invites kids and parents to explore new creative skills with Apple Camp. The hands-on sessions typically take place at Apple Retail Stores and are hosted by Creative Pros. This year, Apple is moving Apple Camp online with Apple Camp at Home. Apple Camp at Home is a new series of digital programs and virtual sessions for kids ages 8-12. Apple has created an easy-to-follow Activity Book featuring new ways to create in video, art & design, and coding....
The Apple credit card was announced in March with the promise of a “summer” release timeframe. With support for Apple Card in the current iOS version, we are now waiting on Apple to flick the switch server-side to make the card available. Bloomberg today says Apple and Goldman Sachs are targeting a launch for Apple Card in the first half of August, which means only a couple of weeks away....
We’re saddened by the loss of life and devastation in the California wildfires. Apple will be donating to relief efforts to help those in need. We thank the brave firefighters working so hard and risking their lives to contain the flames. — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 4, 2018 Apple has started accepting American Red Cross donations as part of the California wildfire relief effort. Donations can easily be made on the web from Apple’s homepage or from the App Store or iTunes Store using the payment method associated with your Apple ID....
A variety of Apple’s iCloud services are experiencing outages this morning, including Calendar, Contacts, iCloud Drive, and more. Apple has confirmed the outages on its System status webpage. According to Apple, the issues are affecting the following services and that the outages started at approximately 9 am ET this morning: Find My iCloud Account & Sign In iCloud Backup iCloud Bookmarks & Tabs iCloud Calendar iCloud Contacts iCloud Drive iCloud Keychain iCloud Mail iCloud Storage Upgrades Photos Screen Time For each one, Apple says that “some users are affected and may be experiencing a problem with this service....
UPDATE [Monday, September 26, 2011 at 5:27pm ET]: Note that J.P. Morgan appears to be backpedalling on the original report filed by their Asia team. Per Business Insider, “J.P. Morgan’s U.S. Apple analyst said ‘Apple is fine’, and the U.S. team does not agree with the Asian analyst team which made the report that Apple was cutting back its iPad orders”. Apple has reportedly cut orders of iPad components for the holiday quarter by 25 percent, JPMorgan Chase & Co....
Apple has responded to this week’s hackings of celebrity iCloud accounts, which resulted in postings of private photographs. Here’s Apple’s statement in full: Apple says that it conducted an investigation for more than 40 hours, and denies that iCloud or Find my iPhone was actually breached. Apple is presenting this as a very targeted username, password, and security questions hack on “certain celebrity accounts.” Apple recommends that users utilize the 2-step verification service for Apple IDs/iCloud....
After officially announcing WWDC 2021, Apple has also rolled out a major update to the Apple Developer application. The new update includes a redesigned Discover tab, sidebar support on iPad, and much more. The Apple Developer app features five tabs along the bottom: Discover, Browse, WWDC, Account, and Search. In the Discover tab, Apple highlights the latest news and updates for developers. The WWDC tab includes details about WWDC 2021, and is where Apple will put more information once it becomes available....
The letter indicates this plan for expansion by Apple as well as an “aggressive go-live timeline of August 2014.” This indicates that Apple planned to have begun production of sapphire crystal components for new iOS devices this month, and many reports have indicated that new iPhones and other Apple gear have gone into production this month. In January, Apple filings indicated an “aggressive go-live timeline of February,” but it is not confirmed if these same go-live plans were delayed by several months or if this new go-live timeline is for a separate product or components....
Apple has long used the proxy of iTunes to push updates to its iOS devices: when a new software update is available, users need to plug their device in via USB, click update, and the new software version is downloaded and installed. Smartphone competitors have long offered a different, more direct method for software updates that happens over-the-air. Specifically, when an update to Google’s Android operating system or HP/Palm’s webOS is released, users are provided an update notification and can update the software right on their phone....
Complaints about the durability of Apple’s recent MacBook keyboards are nothing new, but Apple’s third-generation butterfly keyboard was expected to remedy lingering issues with sticky keys. Joanna Stern’s latest column in the WSJ explores the infamous keyboard problem, however, and suggests we’re not out of the woods yet. Included in the piece is an Apple spokesperson statement acknowledging ongoing issues. Notably, the statement also includes an apology to customers who do experience keyboard issues:...
Apple confirmed today that it has released an unlocked variant of its cellular iPad in Japan allowing users to buy the device and use it with their carrier of choice. The new iPads will be available through Apple retail stores in the country as well as through Apple’s online store. In addition to picking between local carriers, it will also allow users to use their iPads with SIM cards for other carriers when traveling abroad....
During Apple’s Q3 2020 earnings call today, Apple CFO Luca Maestri confirmed that the release of this year’s iPhone 12 will be slightly later than usual. This is a rare confirmation and acknowledgment of delays on Apple’s part. While covering what to expect from Apple during the company’s fiscal Q4 2020, Maestri explained that Apple began selling new iPhones in September of 2019. This year, Maestri says Apple currently expects the new iPhones to come several weeks later....
Apple has announced that longtime hardware executive Dan Riccio will be transitioning to a new role where he will continue to report directly to Tim Cook. Not much is clear about this new role, and its description is quite vague. They note that his new role will focus on a “new project,” and officially his title will be “vice president of engineering.” This new project could be anything from the long-rumored Apple Car or even Apple’s VR/AR hardware efforts....
Update: Apple has posted two more $10K scholarship opportunities with one from its Internet Software & Services Engineering group and another from Apple Software Engineering. Continuing a number of recent initiatives related to promoting diversity at the company, Apple is now offering a new Product Integrity Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship offering “women, black/African American, Hispanic, or Native American university students” an opportunity to win a $10,000 scholarship to help pay for their education in tech....
While Apple made a lot of announcements at its “It’s show time” event last week, many details remain unclear. Apple Arcade is the company’s foray into game subscriptions, but the biggest question about the service is how much it will cost users every month. Apple says that Apple Arcade will bundle over 100 new and exclusive games. This means that users will be able to get access to a collection of games for a single monthly payment....
With its major developer conference scheduled to kick off in just over four weeks, Apple has started sending out WWDC scholarship notifications to winning applicants. Scholarship recipients avoid the limited lottery system for purchasing a ticket while the $1599 price of the ticket is waived. This year the scholarship program includes 350 slots for student developers and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) organization members. In previous years, the scholarship program has been limited to 200 tickets....
Apple today began selling a new Radeon Pro W5500X MPX Module for Mac Pro, offering users another GPU option. This new module comes as a cheaper choice to the Radeon Pro W5700X MPX Module, which was introduced in April this year. While the Radeon Pro W5700X offers 16GB of GDDR6 memory with 448GB/s bandwidth, the Radeon Pro W5500X comes with 8GB of memory and 224GB/s bandwidth, providing half the performance of the more expensive model....
Honda has announced that the 2018 Honda Accord will offer CarPlay support as part of a new 8-inch infotainment system. The feature list indicates that it will be standard on the 2.0T model, and an option on the 1.5T and Hybrid. You’ll get CarPlay (as well as Android Auto) via a new 8-inch Display Audio touchscreen interface that the company points out includes “physical volume and tuning knobs and more intuitive, smartphone-like features and functionality including customizable app tiles and home-screen shortcuts....
