[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMUNO8Onoi4] Just like last year, Apple has posted a well-produced video showcasing thousands of Apple employees participating in San Francisco’s annual Pride parade. Apple CEO Tim Cook shared in a tweet over the weekend that more than 8,000 Apple employees plus friends and family participated in the parade. The company also featured App Store and iTunes sections highlighting LGBT apps and media. You can find the music from the video, “Different Colors” by Walk the Moon, on Apple Music....

Apple is among 40 companies voicing opposition to recent bills introduced across the United States that target LGBTQ citizens. The businesses who signed the open letter, which was published today by the Human Rights Campaign, argue that these bills are bad for business. AL.com details one of the bills, which was that was passed by the Alabama Senate last week: Across the United States, more than one dozen bills have been introduced that would “affect the lives of LGBTQ employees....

Apple has removed Google’s Nest smart thermostat from both its online store and physical retail locations following the launch of some of the first HomeKit devices. As reported by Mashable, Google’s smart thermostat is not available from Apple and searching for the product on Apple’s online store now reveals HomeKit-compatible smart devices instead. Specifically, Apple is marketing the Ecobee 3 smart thermostat instead of Nest’s offering. The Ecobee 3 runs $249 and officially went on sale in Apple Stores earlier this month following Apple official documenting HomeKit last month....

If you missed purchasing an iPhone 5 this weekend, we might have some good news for you. We are hearing Apple expects to launch its in-store product reservation system, Personal Pickup, for iPhone 5 tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern. Customers can use the Apple Store app or website between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. nightly to pre-purchase available iPhone 5 inventory for the next day. Because customers are actually purchasing the iPhone, they will have upwards of two weeks to pick up the phone (when it becomes available)....

Apple has announced in a statement that it is suspending the program which entailed human Apple contractors listening and grading a sample of Siri responses for quality control. The company is conducting a thorough internal review of its Siri policies, and it will reinstate (a presumably different form of) Siri grading when it is finished. When Siri grading returns, users will be able to choose to opt-out of grading. The decision from the company follows a Guardian report that shined light on the kind of conversations Apple contractors were hearing on a daily basis, as a result of the Siri grading program....

Apple Watch goes up for preorder on April 10 and becomes available April 24 through retail stores and online, but some of Apple’s online stores are listing ship dates ranging from April 24th to sometime in May depending on the model. Earlier today some of Apple’s online stores, including its German and UK stores, listed various shipping dates for the device for those willing to do a little digging on the site....

While some are pointing to Apple’s long-awaited streaming video service as a key element in replacing lost iPhone income with Services revenue, at least one major analyst is skeptical. Predicting that Apple will charge $15/month for the service, Jefferies analyst Tim O’Shea says the company faces two big challenges – and even the best-case forecast doesn’t help the company that much … In an investor’s note seen by Business Insider, O’Shea says that the there are two keys to success in streaming video....

Earlier today, Apple published a new white paper offering detailed information about the newest Mac Pro. Hidden in this document is the news that the Mac Pro wheels will, at some point, be available as a standalone purchase. As it stands right now, you can add wheels to your Mac Pro at the time of purchase for $400. Apple has said that if you “already have your Mac Pro and want to add wheels,” you must contact Apple or an Authorized Service Provider....

Apple’s website detailing Continuity features arriving with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in the coming weeks has been updated to announce SMS support won’t arrive until October. The feature, which allows users to send and receive SMS and MMS text messages from an iPad or Mac, could be held up by the upcoming release of OS X Yosemite this fall. Unfortunately, an October release for the feature means it won’t be available to iPad users when iOS 8 launches on September 17....

As it generally does following new iOS releases, Apple today stopped signing iOS 10.2. The move comes following the release of iOS 10.2.1 earlier this month, which included bug fixes and security patches. Apple is also currently beta testing iOS 10.3, which will likely be released to the public sometime this Spring. This means that users will no longer be able to downgrade to iOS 10.2 and instead will be forced to remain on iOS 10....

The Apple Store is now showing the iconic ‘Be right back’ message. This follows the usual tradition ahead of Apple product media events. Apple’s Spring Loaded event starts at 10 AM PT today. We are expecting updates to the iPad Pro and iMac lines. Other rumors included the launch of long-anticipated AirTags trackers, updates to the cheaper iPad and iPad mini, as well as a new ‘Podcasts+’ subscription service. For this April event, we are expecting significant updates to the iPad Pro line....

Update, 9:34 AM: Apple has now updated its System Status page to confirm the outages we reported earlier this morning. Apple reports some users experienced issues with account & sign in for iCloud, purchases for iTunes, Game Center, and creating new Apple IDs: Over the last couple of months Apple’s iCloud servers have been experiencing major outages approximately every couple of weeks and today a growing number of users are once again complaining of issues accessing various iCloud services....

In a profile of Apple SVP Eddy Cue, the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple’s new iTunes 11 app will debut tomorrow (Thursday). The report further claims that the new media player was delayed due to engineering issues that required some re-building. iTunes 11 was originally scheduled for an October debut, but Apple announced in late October that the software would arrive by the end of November. The new app includes a new interface, a new MiniPlayer, improved iCloud media content synchronization, and other new features to improve the music listening experience....

Apple has made its case against Samsung in the patent lawsuit that never ends, and the company’s attorneys rested today after an expert witness testified that Samsung should pay the full $2.191 billion in damages. As CNET reports, Quantitative Economic Solutions economist Christopher Vellturo told the court today that Apple’s claim to over $2 billion is valid based on estimated profits lost to Samsung’s infringing devices as well as royalties owed to Apple for use of its protected software designs....

According to local newspaper DongA, Apple is set to announce a major contract with Kia Motors, worth about $3.6 billion as the company ramps up its efforts to build an electric car. According to the papers, the news could be officially announced as soon as February 17. Apple is apparently looking to produce about 100,000 cars a year, starting in 2024. A previous report had suggested that Apple was looking to sign a deal with Hyundai by March....

Apple has shared its latest white paper via its machine learning journal. Today’s entry is “Learning with Privacy at Scale” and covers specific algorithms Apple is using with differential privacy to improve product features with some specific use cases like discovering popular emoji. Launched this past summer, Apple has used its machine learning journal to share about the evolution of Siri, how ‘Hey Siri’ works, its facial detection, and more....

Almost two weeks after the last release to developers, Apple seeded OS X 10.7.4 build 11E46 to developers this evening. The update features no known issues and asks developers to focus on the App Store, graphics, Mail, QuickTime, screen sharing, and Time Machine. If you are a registered Mac developer, you can grab the update from the Developer Center. Apple did not provide a public release date for 10.7.4. You can check out the full release note after the break....

Apple has just sent out a new pre-release version of OS X 10.9.3. The update has a build number of 13D17 and asks developers to focus on testing the graphics and audio drivers. The limited scope of the focus indicates that issues in other areas have been ironed out and the software is almost ready to ship to customers. Apple first seeded 10.9.3 betas to developers earlier this month. The update is expected to bring support for 60GHz output to 4k Displays at Retina resolution from the latest generation of MacBook Pros....

ABC published some out-takes from a video Apple provided it showing Steve Jobs in the run up to the iPhone launch and at other times later in his tenure at Apple that depict his lighter, more humanistic side. Apple has previously worked with ABC, providing Tim Cook airtime to discuss both Apple and Steve Jobs a year ago. The move by Apple is likely in response to two negative movies that portray the Apple cofounder in an arguably negative light; these are hitting theaters this month....

A European Parliament committee is holding a public hearing on tax evasion later this month, and has invited Apple to attend. Apple has declined the invitation, but offered to meet committee members in private … Reuters reports that the reason Apple doesn’t want to comment publicly is it is afraid of prejudicing its pending appeal against the EU’s ruling that it owes Ireland €13B ($15B) in underpaid tax. Thwaites goes on to say that Apple has the deepest respect for the committee, and would be happy to meet privately to address any questions it may have....