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Apple has officially issued a statement regarding the iPhone 6 bending controversy saying the issue is rare during real world use and that it’s only received complaints from 9 customers (via CNBC). Apple adds, according to the reports, that the “new iPhones feature steel/titanium inserts to reinforce stress locations and use the strongest glass in the industry.” Apple also commented that bending is “extremely rare” during normal use and that it performs a number of strength and durability tests (as you’d expect) before it ships new devices (via WSJ):...

Apple made its first formal appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) since 1992 today. Apple’s senior director of privacy Jane Horvath joined a “Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable” discussion to talk the state of user privacy, Apple’s privacy standards, and more. The roundtable was moderated by Rajeev Chand, head of research at Wing Venture Capital. Alongside Horvath, privacy executives from Facebook and Procter & Gamble also joined the discussion: Erin Egan — VP, public policy and chief privacy officer for policy, Facebook Jane Horvath — Senior director, global privacy, Apple Susan Shook — Global privacy officer, The Procter & Gamble Company Rebecca Slaughter — Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission Horvath’s focus during the discussion was on promoting Apple’s stringent privacy standards, and the steps it takes to protect the user....

If you once had an iPod with Click Wheel, you might remember a mini game called Music Quiz, which consists of correctly guessing which song is being played. With iOS 14, Apple has quietly revived this game as a complex shortcut — and it works just like the old version running on iPods. On the iPod, Music Quiz plays a number of songs in shuffle mode, and it provides five different options for you to choose which song is playing....

Apple today has released a new “30 Creative Activities for Kids” worksheet designed specifically for those learning from home due to COVID-19. The worksheet includes 30 creative tasks for kids, ranging from photo walks to creating a comic strip and more. Apple says: In a post on Twitter, Tim Cook said the new programming is designed to keep kids creating during COVID-19 quarantine: And for more recommendations, Apple says parents and teachers should check out the “Everyone Can Create Teacher Guide,” which is available on Apple Books....

With recent reports of the iPhone 6 Plus suffering from a bendable body while in pockets and other tight places, YouTuber Lewis from Unbox Therapy decided to put together a proper “bend test” and see what all of the fuss is about. Obviously this is going to be an extreme situation, but as others have specified it doesn’t take much to bend Apple’s new phablet… In the video below, Lew puts the iPhone 6 Plus through a forced bend session....

Yet more wheels within wheels on Apple’s move to abandon Infineon for Qualcomm subsequent to Intel’s acquisition of Infineon, manufacturer of baseband chips for the iPhone. Now we’re told Qualcomm will contract Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to make the 3G wireless chips that will equip Apple’s iPhone 5 and iPad 2, which will be launched in mid-2011, as reported by the China Economic News. The chips are expected to be manufactured using TSMC’s 65-nanometre process....

Apple saw record-setting sales this holiday season, according to Localytics. So well, that 12.5 times more iOS devices were activated over Christmas than past weekends. For comparison sake: there were 21 times more iPods compared to 14 times more iPhones. The iPods were most likely gifted to younger children who do not yet have a cell phone. At any rate… there were many people enjoying iOS devices on Christmas Day....

Apple today has debuted a pair of new ads for its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The two ads, one simply titled “Live Photos” and the other titled “Less Time,” are fast-paced 30 second spots that quickly jump between using a pair of features that differentiate the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus from their predecessors… In “Live Photos,” Apple touts the new Live Photos feature of the iPhone 6s lineup....

Apple acquired transit mapping startup HopStop in 2013 to help form the basis of the new transit mapping feature in iOS 9. Now, as is tradition when Apple launches a product based off of an acquired technology, Apple says it is shutting down the still-running HopStop app in October. This message was shared as a banner on HopStop’s website: Unfortunately, Apple shutting down the HopStop service will create a gap in transit support....

A day after the iMac and Mac Pro (besides a spec-bump that popped up in the store) were neglected from this year’s slew of Mac announcements, an Apple spokesperson confirmed to Forbes that new models and new designs of the iMac and Mac Pro are likely to release in 2013. Connie Guglielmo said today: This confirms what New York Times’ columnist David Pogue said yesterday: An Apple spokesman just told me that new models and new designs of the Mac Pro, as well as the iMac desktop, are in the works and will likely be released in 2013....

A report suggests that Nintendo is being forced to limit its sales targets for the Switch game console due to component shortages in part created by Apple … The WSJ reports that the games company has limited its sales target for the year to 10M, though it really wants to make double that. Flash memory manufacturer Toshiba says demand for its NAND chips is ‘overwhelmingly greater’ than supply due to demand from Apple and other smartphone manufacturers....

Following the exposure of a major FaceTime security hole earlier today, Apple has now taken Group FaceTime completely offline. This comes after the company said a fix for the FaceTime calling bug is coming “later this week,” but failed to address specifics. As we reported, this major FaceTime bug lets you hear the audio of the person you are calling before they pick up. To do this, you simply start a FaceTime video call with someone in your contacts, swipe up from the bottom and choose “Add Person....

Apple this evening has shared a new advertisement for its Apple TV set-top box. This ad continues the trend of the company highlighting the tvOS App Store that is available on the device, showcasing a handful of the most popular applications available so far. The ad is entitled “Apple TV – The Future of TV is Apps,” which is a slogan Apple has used since the launch of the device back in October....

As we’ve previously reported, Apple began giving away select paid apps in its Apple Store app recently as an added incentive to download and check out the app. This week in particular Apple has replaced the free app with free music from iTunes instead. The playlist is appropriately holiday themed and features songs such as Silent Night by Kelly Clarkson and The First Noel by Mary J Blige. The free holiday playlist is not present in the Apple Store for iPad app, which debuted last month, likely another reason why the application is not universal....

On Apple’s website, the Fibaro Button joins a handful of other HomeKit accessories, including products from Logitech, Honeywell, Phillips, and others. At Apple, The Button costs $59.95, just as it does from other retailers. As we explained in our full hands-on, Fibaro’s The Button allows you to assign actions to single press, double press, and long press clicks, such as turning on or off combinations of accessories. Fibaro’s accessory is fully programmed via the Home application and supports granular control of other HomeKit devices, such as turning a light on to 50% brightness....

Apple announced two changes to its iAd platform today, expanding the reach and available formats of the ad network in an attempt to reel in more advertisers. The first of these changes is support for brand new iAd styles, including those pre-roll videos we’ve all come to know and love on YouTube. Full-screeninterstitial have also been added to the selection, with both new formats detailed in an updated implementation guide....

Apple Stores are so effective at bringing shoppers into malls that the company has been able to negotiate much lower rent deals than most shops, the Wall Street Journal said in a report today. While most tenants have worked out deals to pay about 15% of their sales in rent, Apple’s ability drive traffic has enabled the company to keep its rent as low as a meager 2%. The only way things could get better for Apple, it seems, is if the Cupertino tech maker was able to secure the same agreement as large department stores, which pay nothing in rent and simply pay fees to help manage the up-keep of the mall’s common areas....

Apple this afternoon evacuated employees from a building at its Austin, Texas campus briefly due to a fire located on the roof, according to several local and reader reports. Local KXAN News reported that solar panels on the roof of offices at 5500 block of West Parmer Lane were the cause of the fire. The Austin Fire Department later confirmed the fire was extinguished and that employees, none of which reported injuries, were waiting to return to the building....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9CdISVlWGs&feature=youtu.be Update: the app seems to be back to normal now. Several users have reported that Apple’s official Podcasts app has suddenly stopped working on iOS. Users experiencing the issue report that the latest version of Apple’s Podcasts app, version 2.1.2 released on May 29th, no longer launches or functions on iOS 7.1.1, the latest stable version of the iPhone software. While the Podcasts app will download from the App Store, opening the app quickly crashes it after a few seconds as seen in the video above....

Apple today updated its executive profiles webpage to remove mention of “online stores” from retail chief Angela Ahrendts’ bio, reflecting a recent change to the executive’s official title. Ahrendts’ new title is, simply, Senior Vice President Retail. It appears the new title is a cosmetic change for its retail branding rather than a change in roles for Ahrendts. It’s my understanding that the title change is to better reflect Angela’s role that merges both retail stores and online retail operations, and not a result of any shift in responsibilities....