Data from Counterpoint Research, and corroborated by two “leading trade partners,” suggests that Apple sold half a million iPhones in India during the final quarter of 2014, reports the Economic Times. This compares to around a million phones during the whole of 2013. Apple has also halved the credit period offered to resellers, from the standard 14 days offered by most manufacturers to 7 days, and sliced between 0.5% and 1% offered the 9-11% margins offered on iPhones (rates varying by sales performance)....

As Apple works to grow and expand its health-related projects and the teams working on those efforts, there’s sure to be some turnover in the process. CNBC reports today that Stephen Friend, a top health researcher, departed Apple late in 2017… We first reported on Friend’s involvement at Apple in 2015, but the transition wasn’t fully completed until June of 2016. Friend is a renowned health researcher and his move to Apple was big news in the health industry....

Early next month, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization will present Apple CEO Tim Cook with its 2015 Ripple of Hope Award honoring leaders in commitment to social change. Cook has described RFK as a personal hero on multiple occasions over the years. The Apple chief is being honored with the award alongside Congressman John Lewis, Evercore co-founder Roger Altman; and UNESCO Ambassador Marianna Vardinoyannis. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization said the Ripple of Hope Award “lauds leaders of the international business, entertainment, and activist communities who demonstrate commitment to social change and reflect Robert Kennedy’s passion for equality, justice, basic human rights, and his belief that we all must strive to ‘make gentle the life of this world....

Apple revealed this morning that nearly 20 billions apps were downloaded in 2012, excluding re-downloads and updates, bringing the total number of App Store downloads to 40 billion. The announcement also noted a record-breaking 2 billion downloads during the month of December. Furthermore, there are more than 500 million active App Store accounts, over 775,000 apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users worldwide, including roughly 300,000 native iPad apps, and customers in about 155 countries around the globe can find apps in 23 refined categories like games, business, news, etc....

We learned last month that Apple’s upcoming Mac Pro will be manufactured in China. While the news wasn’t surprising, the move is a shift from the current Mac Pro that’s been assembled in the US since its debut in 2013. Now, a report from Bloomberg reveals that Apple has formally asked the Trump administration for an exemption on tariffs for the new Mac Pro components and accessories made in China....

Yesterday, Apple uploaded a handful of new 15 second videos to its YouTube channel highlighting the various apps that its new tvOS-powered Apple TV supports. Apple shared videos showcasing apps Netflix, HBO NOW, Asphalt 8, Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition: Star Wars, and Crossy Road. Now, the company has shared one more video to YouTube highlighting Watch ABC on the new Apple TV. The video features characters from popular ABC show The Muppets....

Yesterday, we reported that Apple’s annual Back to School promotion will start this week with free $100 iTunes gift cards instead of iPods. Now, we have independently pinpointed that the Back to School promotion will begin tomorrow (Wednesday) – based on new signage spotted by sources – and have reconfirmed that $100 iTunes cards will be this year’s free item. Additionally, various sources say that store layouts will be changing tonight, with a couple of sources pinpointing up to an 80% change in the store’s software product layout....

Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller is joining Illumina’s board of directors, a company that provides technologies related to DNA sequencing for healthcare research among other services. Illumina’s press release notes that Schiller is responsible for worldwide marketing at Apple and he also recently took over responsibilities of running the App Store. As marketing chief, Schiller is one of the more public facing executives at the company having regularly appeared on stage for press events, interviews and elsewhere....

Apple opened up its new Health Records API just over two months ago to let developers create new apps and improved experiences for patients, particularly as they visit multiple doctors or health systems. Now we’re hearing more about the standard on which the Health Records platform is based, along with new institutions that have started supporting Health Records. As detailed by EHR Intelligence (via Venture Beat), Apple’s Clinical and Health Informatics Lead Ricky Bloomfield, MD, spoke at the ONC 2nd Interoperability Forum about Health Records....

Another day, another witness takes the stand in the Apple vs. Samsung trial. Graphic designer Susan Kare, who once did phenomenal work for Apple in the 1980s, took the stand to testify today and point out similarities between Samsung and Apple’s devices. The Wall Street Journal was present in the courtroom and reported this afternoon that Kare noted that the icons on Samsung devices in many cases infringed on Apple’s patents....

Apple’s relationship with China has never been an easy one. Indeed, I wrote a piece a couple of years ago arguing that the company was in a no-win position in the country. Things today are even worse… But Apple is in a very different position today than was Google in 2010. While Google had big ambitions within the country, it was not dependent on the market. Apple very much is. Not just because China is the largest smartphone market in the world – and as important to Apple as the whole of Europe – but because it is the iPhone maker’s key manufacturing base....

A report from FossPatents today (via MacRumors), covering a Samsung filing with U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, shows the United States Patent and Trademark Office has declared 20 claims related to Apple’s rubber-banding patent invalid. One of the claims was even used against Samsung as part of Apple’s $1 billion victory in a California court in August: The report noted an anonymous third-party challenged the validity of the patent earlier this year by requesting a re-examination (Google looks up into space, begins whistling):...

This is not the first time we have received hints that Apple is working on an innovative universal remote control for controlling TV and video content. In January, we told you that Apple was researching a touchscreen remote with adaptable user interfaces. The invention would essentially allow button layouts stored in the cloud or in a device (such as a TV) to be wirelessly and seamlessly beamed to the controller’s UI....

Last month, Apple announced that it was continuing its expansion of App Store Search Ads around the world, and today the platform has gone live in 12 additional countries in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Apple said last month that it would expand its Search Ads Basic platform to additional countries on August 22nd. Search Ads Basic is the counterpart to Search Ads Advanced, and is a far simpler way for developers to launch App Store ad campaigns....

Update: Apple’s official statement below: Apple’s head of Worldwide Human Resources Denise Young Smith will now run diversity programs for the company under a newly created VP position, according to sources familiar with the move. The executive shuffle will see the creation of a new VP role for Apple’s Inclusion and Diversity team with Smith reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. Sources say Smith has long had a passion for diversity initiatives at the company and the newly created position reflects an increased focus on the company’s efforts....

Along with the release of iOS 7.1 and a few updates to Remote, Podcasts, and Garageband, Apple has just updated its Logic Remote app to Version 1.1. The new update brings a revamped, streamlined interface that makes the app better fit in on iOS 7 as well as the darker color scheme of the recently released Logic Pro X. Also included in the update is “more scale choices for Touch instruments” which brings a number of new scale options for those playing Apple’s built-in virtual instruments....

Over the last few months, Apple has quietly relaunched the iPhone 6 in a ‘new’ 32 GB configuration around the world. The company has opted not to sell the product directly, instead distributing the device via carrier partners. The 32 GB iPhone 6 originally debuted in emerging markets, presumably as a lower cost option, but has more recently appeared in the US — and now it has hit the UK too …...

Apple’s Shortcuts app is now built-in on iPhones and iPads with iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, a change that gives the automation app more integration and greater discovery. If you’re brand new to Shortcuts or want to take customization to the next level, there are two great resources out this month to help. First up is an ambitious design project from the MacStories team for personalizing how specific shortcuts appear on your iPhone and iPad Home screen....

Apple’s streaming video service is launching into an increasingly competitive market, and one in which consumers are already experiencing ‘subscription fatigue,’ says a new survey. The Deloitte survey of more than 2,000 US digital consumers contained a mix of good and bad news for Apple … The good news is that the market for streaming video services is huge and still growing rapidly, reports USA Today. But many streaming video subscribers feel overwhelmed and frustrated....

As Apple continues to develop watchOS 2.0 for Apple Watch ahead of its release this fall, the company has released watchOS 2 beta 4 to registered developers today for testing the operating system update on Apple Watch. The upcoming OS update includes a ton of improvements to the platform including support for native apps, third-party complications, new watch faces including using your own photos, a clever Night Stand mode for using the watch as a miniature alarm clock, and several refinements to apps and features like Digital Touch and Siri....