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While we’ve seen the accessory discounted a few times in the past, Apple this evening has started selling a refurbished Apple Pencil via its online store for $85 in the United States… Apple charges $99 for a brand new Apple Pencil, so users will save about $14 if they go the refurbished route. As with all refurbished Apple products, the company highlights that refurbished Apple Pencil units have gone through a “rigorous” refurbishment process, while you also get a one-year warranty covering manufacturing defects....

Apple today updated its website to reflect that it will open its fourth retail store in Hong Kong on Canton Road at 9:00 AM local time on July 30th. We first saw photos of this store under construction back in February. The store is located at 100 Canton Road in the southern portion of Kowloon in the high-end retail area Tsim Sha Tsui. Plans for the store were announced all the way back in 2013....

A Chinese State-owned film studio is suing Apple, alleging that the company sold its animated movies on iTunes without permission, reported the South China Morning Post. The 3.3m CNY ($531,000) lawsuit follows five consecutive days of media attacks by the State-owned People’s Daily, claiming Apple’s customer service and refund policies in China are inferior to those offered in other countries. Apple is also being sued by a Shanghai-based company that alleges Siri infringed a patent used in its own ‘Xiao i Robot’ voice-recognition systems …...

It’s been six or a dozen years since Apple bought TestFlight, the beta software distribution platform for iOS, and there’s still no official TestFlight for Mac for sharing and updating app betas without hunting for obscure computer identifiers. But TestFlight for iPhone and iPad does have a fancy new app icon with a level of detail that would fit right in on the Mac! TestFlight 2.7 is a standard bug fixes and improvements update....

Apple is reportedly running low on parts for 42mm Series 1 and original first-generation Apple Watch repairs. Apple Authorized Service Providers are being told to replace these Apple Watch models with a Series 2 instead. According to an internal document (via MacRumors), Apple is permitting Apple Authorized Service Providers to replace 42mm first-generation or Series 1 Apple Watch models with a Series 2 if a customer is needing a repair. This is due to supply constraints and will start in February and run through April....

Apple early this morning shared a new pair of videos on its YouTube channel highlighting the effect that technology has on those with special needs. As this month is Autism Acceptance Month, the video, called “Dillan’s Voice,” features a teenager named Dillan and shows how he uses Apple products to express his thoughts. Dillan is autistic and nonverbal but yet has very complex and powerful thoughts that he is able to express using his iPad with an augmented and alternative communication app....

A day before the official opening, Apple invited local press to tour its latest retail store within the Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates. Headline features include views of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and a 180-feet wide motorized window comprising 18 carbon fiber panels. The store will also provide great views of another Dubai attraction … Each evening, there is a spectacular evening fountain show directly outside the store, and Apple is inviting visitors to use that 18-foot wide opening window to view the display....

The Super Bowl kicks off on February 7th at Levi’s Stadium, in close vicinity to the headquarters of major tech firms including Apple. Usually, the Super Bowl is funded by local government sponsorships. This year, tech companies are (at least partially) footing the bill. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has contributed free products and equipment to the host committee and has explicitly declined any company or product marketing in exchange....

As iOS 14.1 is now available to all users, Apple has just stopped signing iOS 14.0.1. That means users who have updated their devices to iOS 14.1 or iOS 14.2 beta can no longer downgrade to iOS 14.0.1. Before that, Apple also stopped signing iOS 14.0. iOS 14.0 was released on September 16 after almost a three-month beta period. The update brings a major redesign to the home screen with widgets, App Library, and other new features....

Apple’s 30% cut of all in-app purchases is again making the news. Facebook said that when it tried to help out small businesses who’d lost income due to the coronavirus, Apple refused to waive its 30% commission on sales. Facebook itself takes no cut of the income. The social network then tried including a ‘transparency notice’ advising users that Apple would get 30% of the amount paid, and Apple blocked that …...

Apple recently kicked off a new iPad Pro ad campaign that highlights problems real people have with PCs and how iPads can be better solutions. So far Apple has shared seven installments in its ‘Real problems… answered’ series, but there are at least two (now four!) more ads in the wild that haven’t been published on YouTube. These ads follow the same format based on actual tweets from real people and target so-called Windows PC ‘switchers’ Apple wants to reach with the iPad Pro....

After it was revealed that Apple paid an effective tax rate on its European profits of just 0.005% in 2014, a local tax and advisory firm has said that while other multinational companies had similar arrangements with Ireland, Apple’s deal was ‘the most brazen.’ The comment was made by Aisling Donohue, a partner at tax and business advisory firm MGPartners, reports Bloomberg. The European Commission yesterday ordered the Irish government to recover €13B ($15B) in taxation from Apple after it was ruled to have offered the company illegal tax breaks....

As Apple continues to grow and evolve its Services, one product that has been talked about is a “super-bundle” that could offer customers music, video, gaming, and even news. Apple has reportedly been chatting with major music companies about the plans but there appears to be concerns and resistance from some record labels. Reported by the Financial Times, anonymous sources close to the matter say that Apple has been talking with the major music companies about a super-bundle....

Apple CEO Tim Cook opened the Computers, Privacy & Data Protection conference last week with a speech about privacy due to Data Privacy Day. After being broadcast live, the speech was uploaded today on Apple’s official YouTube channel. During the 12-minute speech, Cook once again expressed his concerns about privacy and data security. He argued that the digital advertising market has been invading personal privacy for decades and that Apple wants to stop this by giving users the right to choose whether or not they want to be tracked....

The Pride Edition Woven Nylon band first became popular last year when Apple gifted the band to employees participating in the San Francisco Pride parade. It wasn’t until June of this year that Apple released the band to the general public for $49. The bands carried a charitable component, with Apple donating a portion of proceeds from Pride Edition band sales to LGBTQ advocacy groups. Apple has recently stopped sales of the Pride Edition Apple Watch band, likely due to it switching its focus to its new Fall Collection of Apple Watch bands, first shown during the iPhone X event earlier this week....

Following the release of iOS 14.5 and today’s iOS 14.5.1, Apple has stopped signing iOS 14.4.2, blocking downgrades from the latest major update. Apple first released iOS 14.4.2 to the public back in March with critical security and bug fixes. That was followed by iOS 14.5 a month later – a major release with Apple Watch Unlock for iPhone, App Tracking Transparency, new emoji and Siri voices, Podcast app updates, and more....

Apple updated its mobile shopping apps for both iPhone and iPad today, with each platform getting a different set of new features or fixes. On the iPhone, improvements were made to the way in-store notifications are handled. These notifications can be triggered by a variety of events, such as a Genius Bar appointment or a nearby iBeacon. On the iPad app (which is still a separate download for some reason), shoppers can now purchase Apple gift cards from directly within the app....

Two weeks after a surprise launch of the first macOS 11.5 beta, Apple has seeded developers with the second. The update comes alongside the second beta of iOS 14.7. Update 6/3: Now available for public beta testers as well. If you’re enrolled in the developer or public beta program, the OTA for the second macOS 11.5 beta should be showing up soon if it’s not already. You can also download the beta from Apple’s Developer website....

At WWDC last year, Apple introduced a new Car Key feature as part of iOS 13.6. The feature allows drivers to replace their physical car keys with their iPhone. An update to the Digital Key Release specification coming later this year will add support for Ultra Wideband and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity… The new update was announced today by the Car Connectivity Consortium, of which Apple is a member. The Digital Key 3....

Apple has released the first update to its new Clips app for iPhone and iPad. The new version improves Live Title text editing and includes a few other changes as well. Here’s the full change log: What’s New in Version 1.0.1 • Tap on Live Title text while playing or paused to edit it • When sharing to a contact with multiple messaging addresses, Clips suggests the address used most frequently • Improved stability and reliability when recording video clips and sharing videos that contain certain posters...