Images via Chipworks Back in July, Mark reported that some code in iOS 7 showed that the 64-bit A7 would be made by Samsung. If that weren’t enough, Anandtech reported that they also believe that Samsung made the A7 last week after their iPhone review. The evidence was pretty strong but we now have what appears to be definitive evidence from iFixit/Chipworks. Chipworks goes further and identifies what Apple calls the M7....

Last week, Apple revised its app store policies in an effort to adhere to an Authority for Consumers and Markets’ (ACM) order for the iPhone maker to update its app store policies so dating app providers could use payment systems other than the one offered by Apple. The changes entailed Apple providing an option for dating app providers to use either a third-party payment system within the app or include an in-app link directing users to the developer’s website to complete a purchase....

An analysis of Apple’s Q4 guidance by BTIG’s Walter Piecyk suggests that the company will launch new products in Q4, which ends on 28 September. Piecyk says that the guidance on margins suggests that the product will be an iPhone … Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, quoted in a Business Insider piece, backed up this view. The big question, of course, is whether the new product is the 5S, plastic iPhone or both....

Apple released a small update for its Podcasts app this evening to bring it to version 1.0.2. The update does not provide anything in the way of new features, but it does provide performance and stability improvements. The troublesome issue of Podcasts quitting on launch is also fixed in the update, according to Apple in the release notes below. Apple has had a rough start with its Podcasts app due to a slew of issues from the beginning....

Shortly after releasing 10.8.3 build 12D43 to developers, Apple is today seeding build 12D50 with no known issues. Apple isn’t listing any significant changes, but it asked developers to once again focus on AirPlay, AirPort, Game Center, Graphics Drivers, and Safari. The full release notes are available below. Sprint expands 4G LTE coverage, promises rollout to more markets soon (9to5google.com) AT&T sneaks in 9 new LTE markets before iPhone 5 launch, 40 more before holidays (9to5mac....

Apple has released a cool new ad today called Flight that highlights the cellular capabilities of the Apple Watch. In the ad created by film director Jonathan Glazer, renowned skydiver Inka Tiitto runs through the forest with her watch and then is catapulted into the sky where she dances amongst the clouds, to then plummet back into the ocean. The ad shows off the Watch’s Maps turn-by-turn navigation features, and the ability to answer the phone from anywhere thanks to the cellular radios …...

Apple has updated the watch bands page on its website to provide an easier selection process for potential buyers. The page now lists each individual band under its own section with a brief description and price. Shoppers will then be able to select an appropriately-sized band for their watch. Previously the site looked like any other collection on the store with a grid view that featured little more than a photo....

Apple has shared a funky new ad on its YouTube channel promoting Apple Music by using abstractions of various album covers. The video features a fast paced, abstract style that highlights a variety of artists and content. The new Apple Music ad is set to the song Dance While You Shoot by Noga Erez and also features a quick glimpse of the track’s music video as well. Other artists featured in the video include Dr....

Apple CEO Tim Cook is live on stage at the company’s special media event in California, and he just announced a new version of iBooks. News and features: 400 million iBooks downloads Continuous scrolling Better integrated with iCloud— purchased books show up on shelf Fantastic new ways to share — tap favorite quote and share on Facebook and Twitter Supporting over 40 languages— new Korean, Chinese, Japanese Available today, free download Education news and iBooks Author:...

While the general look of Apple’s Campus 2 construction project is largely the same as recent updates, the latest official aerial shot shared by Apple and the city of Cupertino illustrates progress in a few specific areas. Aside from the general progress on the main building, the new imagery shows changes in the area seen in the lower right quarter of the shot with yellow material appearing in the dug out section and ground development in the bottom right area of the site....

Update: Apple released Safari Technology Preview 126 last week but then pulled off the update. It’s now available again. Apple released today Safari Technology Preview 126, its experimental browser first introduced in 2016. With this update, users can have a sneak peek at upcoming web technologies coming to macOS and iOS. With Safari Technology Preview, some of the features announced with macOS Monterey and iOS 15 last week are available to users that are not necessarily running beta versions of upcoming operating systems....

Apple’s next Apple Watch Activity Challenge has officially been scheduled. The first-ever “Unity Challenge” will be held from February 1 through February 28, and it encourages Apple Watch users to celebrate Black History Month by closing their Move ring seven days in a row. This marks the first year that Apple has held an Apple Watch Activity Challenge in celebration of Black History Month. Apple Watch Activity Challenges are meant to promote using the watch for fitness and act as a way for Apple to guide users into taking advantage of the workout tracking features....

Apple today shared two new ads on its official YouTube channel, both of which highlight the “Portrait Mode” feature available exclusively on the iPhone 7 Plus. The feature, as the ads demonstrate, creates an instant depth-of-field effect by blurring the background to let anyone easily take a professional looking portrait. Both ads focus specifically on the Portrait Mode feature by showing how it can be used to shoot a superior portrait picture of a person....

Both the App Store and iTunes is currently experiencing a widespread performance issue resulting in missing content from the categories sections and errors when downloading new content. Apple’s official status page currently has no mention of the issue aside from a brief Apple Pay support problem earlier today. Apple’s services last suffered a widespread outage just two weeks ago which prompted an apology on behalf of the company. Update 11:36 EST: While the outage was very much widespread, the issues seem to be resolved....

First noted by The Next Web, recently promoted Bob Mansfield cashed in 35,000 shares of AAPL stock at $582.21 a share. That is worth a fat check of $20,377,507.50, as a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing also revealed today. This is Mansfield’s second time cashing in the stock that he was awarded in 2005. His first cash-in was in 2009. While Mansfield was set to retire from Apple in June, he was appointed Senior Vice President of Technologies under Apple’s major exec shake-up....

Bloomberg is out with its 2019 Pay Index that ranks the compensation of US executives. Even though Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has a relatively small salary, bonuses and large stock awards launched him to being the second-highest-paid CEO after Tesla’s Elon Musk. Bloomberg‘s data shows that Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk handily earned the most of any US executive in 2019 thanks to options vesting. That saw Musk earn a sizeable $595....

One of the more surprising announcements from Apple at WWDC this afternoon was that it will be launching its own “Sign In with Apple” platform. In a post on its developer blog this evening, Apple notes that it will be required that apps implement “Sign in with Apple” if they also implement competing services. “Sign in With Apple” isn’t live in the first beta of iOS 13, but the company says it will be available for developers to test this summer....

Apple today has pushed an update to the official Apple Store app for iOS that includes a couple of notable enhancements and bumps the app to version 3.7. Most notably, the latest update expands the capabilities of 3D Touch within the app. Previously, the Apple Store app on iOS supported 3D Touch quick actions on the app icon, allowing users to more easily jump directly into various areas of the app....

The iPod refresh was leaked last week by assets in the latest version of iTunes 12.2 which pictured the new iPod touch, nano and shuffle colors. As reported this morning, it is also expected that the iPod touch will get a storage bump with a new 128 GB option for $399. The base iPod price is expected to remain unchanged with the 16 GB SKU priced at $199. Also notice that the Loop wristband is not visible in the corner of the iPod touch in the image above, suggesting it will be removed from the product....

In line with our report from a couple of weeks ago, Apple’s in-store iPhone trade-in program has arrived in Canada. The Reuse and Recycle program allows an iPhone user (of the first 3G model and newer) to trade-in their iPhone for a gift card that can be applied toward the purchase of the new iPhone. The amount of money on the card will vary by model and the quality of the older iPhone....