Apple

6,140 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - May 2016

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Apple News and Brief History

Before you can properly understand Apple News, it’s important to know its history. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977, Apple’s sales were growing with the success of its early computers. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak hired designers and a production line crew. Apple went public in 1980 and was an instant success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring new graphical user interfaces, such as the original Macintosh in 1984. As the market for personal computers expanded through the 1990s, Apple lost market share to the cheaper Microsoft Windows on PC clones. Eventually, Wozniak and Jobs both left Apple. Jobs would go on to found NeXT and would return to Apple when NeXT was acquired in the late 90s. Apple then began a journey to the great second act in the history of the business world.

Since the release of the iPod in 2001, Apple has become a major player once again in the technology industry. After releasing the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, and the Apple Watch in 2015, Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world. Apple’s worldwide annual revenue totaled $274.5 billion for its 2020 fiscal year.

Today, Apple operates retail stores all across the world, has a growing services division, and an ever-expanding hardware lineup. The technology industry follows Apple news to see where the company is headed in the future.

Keep reading for the latest Apple news

Two Apple engineers traveled to a customer’s house to troubleshoot iTunes deletion bug

Chance Miller May 17 2016 - 8:30 pm PT

Last week, we drew attention to a blog post from James Pinkstone in which he described how iTunes Match deleted 122GB of his personal music collection went viral. Apple confirmed the issue on Friday and rolled out a potential fix with iTunes 12.4 yesterday, but Pinkstone today has shared a new blog post detailing the extreme lengths to which Apple went in order to track down what exactly caused the problem in the first place.

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Purported iPhone 7 images show new tapered antenna design, possible laser auto-focus feature

Chance Miller May 17 2016 - 9:53 am PT

Leaks regarding the iPhone 7 have been plentiful so far this year. We’ve seen a handful of schematic drawings, component pictures, and a few purported photos of the device itself. Now, another set of images has appeared on Chinese social media site Weibo claiming to show the upcoming 4.7-inch iPhone 7 variant. As has been reported in the past, the design is largely similar to that of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, but with a few tweaks. (via LettemSvetemApplem).

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Report: Apple suppliers ramp hiring earlier than usual, assembling ‘more complex’ iPhone 7 design

Benjamin Mayo May 17 2016 - 5:22 am PT

Economic Daily News is reporting that Apple suppliers have begun hiring en-masse this month as they prepare for assembly of Apple’s upcoming flagship iPhone, the iPhone 7. The new iPhones (coming in 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch sizes) are expected to debut in the fall, following tradition. The report comes via CNBC.

Interestingly, the report notes that the surge in hiring at Foxconn and Pegatron is happening earlier than usual (‘at least a month earlier’). Apparently, the new Apple iPhone includes a ‘more complex design’ than previous models meaning suppliers need more time to train staff about the assembly process. This somewhat contradicts previous leaks in the rumor mill which indicated the iPhone 7 would look very similar to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus …

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Petition to activate smartphone FM radios gains steam as carriers agree to flip the switch

Chance Miller May 16 2016 - 6:28 pm PT

A new report from CBC News details the progress being made to unlock the FM radio chip that many smartphones feature. Many smartphones have an untapped FM chip inside them that users are unable to take advantage of and while many Android devices are confirmed to have the chip, the iPhone also has despite Apple not officially recognizing it.

A petition has been running in the United States to urge carriers and manufacturers to unlock the hidden FM chip in smartphones. The campaign has gained significant steam since its inception, so much so that carriers are starting to agree to unlock the chip…but Apple has yet to comment.

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GarageBand for iOS and Mac updated with focus on Chinese sounds and instruments

Chance Miller May 16 2016 - 4:25 pm PT

Apple today has updated GarageBand for Mac and iOS to “celebrate the rich history of Chinese music.” The update for both platforms includes a variety of new sounds and instruments that cater towards the Chinese music industry. The update brings GarageBand for iOS to version 2.1.1 and GarageBand for OS X to version 10.1.2.

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Report: Apple faces increased scrutiny from Chinese government amid security fears

Chance Miller May 16 2016 - 4:09 pm PT

Last month, Apple saw its iBooks and Movies services go offline in China amid review by government regulators and now it looks as if the company’s struggles in the country may not end there. According to a new report from The New York Times, Apple is among a handful of foreign tech companies that the Chinese government is scrutinizing in fear of security threats.

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Apple releases iTunes 12.4 with interface and navigation changes

Chance Miller May 16 2016 - 10:25 am PT

In addition to releasing software updates across iOS, Mac, and watchOS, Apple today has released an update to iTunes. The update brings iTunes to version 12.4 and includes the design tweaks that were initially rumored earlier this month.

iTunes 12.4 introduces a variety of interface tweaks that Apple says make it easier to navigate the app and switch between different kinds of content. First off, there’s a new media picker that allows users to quickly switch between Music, Movies, TV shows, and more.

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UK shows off prototype of digital iPhone driving license using Apple’s Wallet app

Jordan Kahn May 13 2016 - 11:06 am PT

It looks like drivers in the UK could soon be able to store their driver’s license within Apple’s Wallet app on iPhones as CEO of the country’s Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) today shared the image of the work in progress feature above.

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Apple schedules WWDC 2016 scholarship winner orientation for June 12

Jordan Kahn May 13 2016 - 8:22 am PT

After issuing WWDC scholarships to winning applicants earlier this week for its upcoming developers conference in June, Apple has now invited winners to a WWDC 2016 orientation on Sunday, June 12th.

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GOOG market cap once again overtakes AAPL, making Alphabet most valuable company over Apple

Zac Hall May 12 2016 - 8:14 am PT

Google parent company Alphabet has once again surpassed Apple in terms of value based on market capitalization. CNBC points out that Alphabet (GOOG) saw its market cap around $498.56 billion during trading today, while Apple (AAPL) saw its market cap down around $496.69 billion.

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FBI director says debate over encryption is far from over, expects more litigation to come

Chance Miller May 11 2016 - 4:42 pm PT

Even though the FBI’s battle with Apple over the San Bernardino iPhone is essentially over, FBI director James Comey today explained that the case is just the beginning of litigation over accessing smartphones and other devices. As reported by Reuters, Comey explained that there will be more litigation between the FBI and manufacturers over accessing locked devices, noting that encryption is “essential tradecraft” of terrorist groups.

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Report: Apple could shutdown iTunes music downloads in favor of Apple Music within two years

Jordan Kahn May 11 2016 - 2:08 pm PT

[UPDATE: Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr has denied this report in a statement to Recode, simply saying it’s “not true.”]

A report from Digital Music News today citing sources close to Apple claims the company is currently considering a plan that would see it shutdown its iTunes Store music download business within two years. The move would mean the company would stop selling downloads of music from iTunes and instead focus entirely on monthly subscriptions to its Apple Music streaming service.

However, on top of the rather fast two year timeline quoted for exiting from the downloads business, the report does add that a 3 to 4 year timeline is also something being considered by Apple executives:

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Report: Apple to open new retail location at historic Tower Theatre in Los Angeles

Chance Miller May 11 2016 - 1:45 pm PT

According to a new report from LA Business Journal, Apple is in the process of securing real estate space for a new store in Los Angeles. The store will reportedly be located at the historic Tower Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, which could help revitalize the area’s retail business as a whole.

The Apple Store would be located at 800 S. Broadway, although specific details regarding the size of the store are still unclear. Additionally, it’s unknown how much Apple is paying for this retail space. Currently, there is over 250,000-square-feet of vacant retail space on Broadway between First Street and Olympic Boulevard, so Apple likely isn’t paying an extraordinary amount of money for the space.

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KGI: Apple’s full iPhone 7 Plus 5.5-inch lineup to adopt dual camera, 3GB of RAM

Seth Weintraub May 11 2016 - 9:21 am PT

Contrary to a previous report, KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo now believes Apple’s next-generation 5.5-inch iPhone, likely to be called the iPhone 7 Plus, will have a dual back camera across the whole line. Previously, KGI is quoted as saying only the high end configurations of the iPhone would adopt the new camera technology:

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Apple News Format gains new features for publishers including custom cover images

Benjamin Mayo May 10 2016 - 10:38 am PT

Apple is rolling out some iterative improvements to Apple News for publishers taking advantage of its Apple News Format to post articles. Apple is adding Map and Place components, to let authors pictographically display relevant locations — complete with pins to highlight POI.

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Report: Foxconn set to open $10 billion iPhone manufacturing plant in India

Chance Miller May 9 2016 - 7:14 pm PT

According to a new report from The Economic Times of India, Apple supplier Foxconn is close to signing a deal with the Indian government to open an iPhone manufacturing plant in the country. The report claims that Apple and Foxconn have narrowed the location for the factory down to Maharashtra.

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Report: Apple holds private meeting with top podcasters to hear complaints

Chance Miller May 7 2016 - 12:17 pm PT

According to a new report from The New York Times, Apple recently held a closed-door meeting with seven of the top iTunes podcasters to discuss the company’s support for the community. The meeting took place last month at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters and offered a place for the podcasters to express complaints in “frank terms” to Apple employees.

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Report: Apple’s standalone HomeKit app could finally arrive in iOS 10

Jordan Kahn May 7 2016 - 7:37 am PT

A standalone iOS app for Apple’s HomeKit platform could finally arrive in iOS 10 as a new report claims an Apple employee on the company’s marketing team revealed plans for the launch in an online review. MacRumors found the mention (pasted below) within a product review related to HomeKit and says it confirmed the person that left the comment was indeed an Apple employee.

As I work in marketing for Apple, we test many Smart Home devices, especially for iOS HomeKit integration. […]

Some advice, there are many third party applications, most free, that offer more control and customization(s) with many Smart Home devices. “Yonomi” is a free app that I often use, “Home” is another which cost $14.99. Both offer support for many devices with more added daily (including Amazon “Echo”). The next version of iOS due this fall will have a standalone “HomeKit” app as well.

Apple has had plans for a HomeKit app on your iPhone’s home screen for quite a while as it’s developed the platform that currently only allows control of supported home automation accessories through Siri or third-party apps. We were first to detail some of the planned features for the platform and app back before the release of iOS 9, some which like the app have yet to be released.

The idea is that rather than using various apps each accessory maker builds, you could just open one “Home” app on your iPhone to manage everything. These apps already exist in the form of third-party solutions like the Hesperus app we reviewed a couple weeks back, but a solution direct from Apple would hopefully mean one of the best implementations yet and maybe some new features that third-party developers don’t have access to in the current crop of apps.

If the report is true, we could finally get our first look at the Home app at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference in June where the company is expected to preview iOS 10 alongside its other upcoming products and developer tools.

Apple seeking 800,000-sq feet of space for car project as team reaches around 600 people – WSJ

Ben Lovejoy May 6 2016 - 3:58 am PT

A Tesla-style concept of the Apple Car from CarWow

One of the largest property companies in the San Francisco Bay Area has said during an investor call that Apple is seeking around 800,000 square feet of space in the area to expand its car project. The WSJ quotes Hudson Pacific Properties CEO Victor Coleman talking about rising demand for space for car R&D in the area.

We’re seeing the Toyotas of the world, the Teslas of the world, BMWs, Mercedes. Ford now is out in the marketplace looking for space. I haven’t even mentioned the 400,000 square feet that Google’s looking to take down and the 800,000 square feet that Apple’s looking to take down for their autonomous cars as well.

That would be almost a third the size of the spaceship campus Apple is currently building, which is around 2.8M square feet …

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Apple Music adds student membership subscription at 50% discount, $4.99 per month

Benjamin Mayo May 6 2016 - 1:13 am PT

Apple is today introducing an Apple Music plan aimed at students. The service is identical in features to the standard plan but rather than paying $9.99 per month, qualifying students can subscribe to Apple Music for $4.99 per month. The offering is rolling out today in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and more countries (via TechCrunch). Prices vary per region but the discount should be around 50% of the normal Apple Music price.

To qualify, students must be currently attending an eligible university or college and gain the discount for up to four years. Apple has partnered with UNiDAYs to verify people who sign up to the student plan are legitimate students attending a school.

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Opinion: A visual refresh will help Apple Music, but these things need to change too

Chance Miller May 5 2016 - 5:34 pm PT

Earlier this week, we reported on an upcoming design refresh coming to Apple Music with iOS 10. Mark reported that the update would focus on “a redesigned user-interface, a few new functions, and reorganization as well as simplification of existing features.” The new interface is said to ditch the colorful translucent look of the current app in favor of a more simplistic look with a focus on album art and black & white design.

While I certainly won’t reject an interface refresh for Apple Music, I think there are a variety of things that need to change too (or even first). Read on as I breakdown what needs to be changed…

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Immersion expands patent lawsuit against Apple over haptic feedback technology

Chance Miller May 5 2016 - 4:59 pm PT

Earlier this year Immersion Corporation, one of the leading companies in haptic feedback technology, filed a lawsuit against Apple over haptic technology used in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and Apple Watch. Today, the company has filed a second lawsuit against Apple and AT&T in which it says the MacBook and MacBook Pro violate one patent relating to haptic feedback. Additionally, Immersion says the iPhone 6s infringes on three more of its patents not mentioned in the first lawsuit.

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Apple will appeal loss of iPhone trademark rights at China’s highest court

Benjamin Mayo May 5 2016 - 2:46 am PT

In a statement, Apple has said that it will appeal a Chinese trademark ruling which saw the company lose exclusive rights to the iPhone name, allowing other Chinese companies to use the name for leather goods products. Obviously, the iPhone is Apple’s cash cow so the initial ruling was a big blow allowing legal dilution of its most-valuable brand.

Apple will take the appeal to the Supreme People’s court, the highest court in the Chinese law system …

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Apple loses market leadership to Samsung as number one smartphone OEM in the US

Edoardo Maggio May 4 2016 - 9:12 am PT

In the middle of seemingly stalling profits and a general slowdown of the smartphone industry — like Apple‘s notable first quarter of YoY growth drop in years — Samsung seems to be enjoying a moment of sunshine bathing.

Eleven months after losing the leadership to the Cupertino giant, the Korean manufacturer has climbed once again to the top of the US vendors’ list, as per a Counterpoint Research report (via Business Korea)…

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