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As part of the updates to the Yosemite and iOS betas today, Apple’s new coding language Swift has received several major improvements and tweaks to make the language more consistent and help developers make better, safer apps. The intricacies of the changes are very gibberish to non-developers, but the fixes resolve many of the issues that developers had been requesting. In particular, the new value type model of arrays fixes several inconsistencies and prevents many potential code ‘gotchas’ that could arise in previous Swift builds....

Apple today has asked developers to begin to submit their updated applications for iOS 13. The company touts that developers can implement Dark Mode, Sign in with Apple, ARKit 3, and more. Starting in April 2020, Apple says all new apps and app updates will be required to be built with the iOS 13 SDK. It adds that developers will also be required to support the iPhone XS Max or later:...

Apple has issued a more direct response to customers experiencing issues with HomePod leaving white rings on certain wood surfaces in normal use. The response comes in an updated support article detailing how to clean and care for HomePod. Apple describes the occurrence as expected and not a defect. That response suggests Apple was aware of this issue (like with jet black iPhone 7 experiencing ‘micro abrasions’ which it warned customers about) and a fix should not be expected if it’s not a defect....

During The Grammys this evening, Apple debuted the first advertisement for its Carpool Karaoke spin-off. The ad gives the first look at the premise of Apple’s version of the hit concept, which originally appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Apple first announced its plans for a Carpool Karaoke spin-off last year and additional details have been slowly emerging since then. Today’s ad gives a first look at the rotating host concept that the show will adopt....

A Bloomberg profile of Apple’s ‘chief chipmaker’ – SVP of hardware technologies Johny Srouji – talks about how the iPad Pro was launched behind schedule, and almost ended up being less powerful than the iPhone 6s. While the piece predictably doesn’t reveal much we didn’t already know, it does contain one surprising fun fact about the original iPhone … The original plan was to introduce the iPad Pro with Apple’s tablet chip, the A8X, the same processor that powered the iPad Air 2, introduced in 2014....

Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook was invited to take part in a roundtable discussion at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s annual conference on clinical practice guidelines and quality cancer care. This year’s agenda centers around the topic of “Cancer and Corporate America: Business as Usual?” The five-day discussion begins March 15 in Hollywood, Fla., and ABC News anchor Sam Donaldson will moderate it. The NCNN website listed Cook as an invitee, but there is no guarantee that Apple’s CEO will participate....

Several apps began rolling out on the App Store this morning with HealthKit support for Apple’s new Health app, but it seems issues on Apple’s side have forced HealthKit-compatible apps to be completely removed from the App Store the morning of iOS 8’s (and Apple’s Health app’s) release. Apps affected include workout app Carrot Fit, calorie counting app MyFitnessPal, and major health app WebMD among others. Each app that has been pulled from availability on the App Store previously introduced full support for iOS 8’s HealthKit feature, which Apple encouraged developers of such apps to have ready for iOS 8 launch day earlier this year at WWDC....

Apple is set to open its largest Florida-based Apple Store yet in Greater Downtown Miami, according to a new report. Sources close to The Real Deal and South Florida Business Journal have confirmed that Apple has signed a lease with Miami’s new Brickell City Centre to open the new retail location. The new destination, which is planned to open by fall, currently lists 75 confirmed stores and restaurants that will be nestled inside of the new open-air shopping center....

In January, we broke the news that Apple plans to open a retail store inside of London’s world-famous Harrods department store. Harrods is a premier landmark with hundreds of individual shops and sections within the greater structure. The flurry of high-end brands within Harrods makes the store a logical spot for Apple to continue its string of “store-in-store” locations. Now, sources inside Harrods reported that Harrods and Apple plan to open the new store in mid-March....

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iui_BLtj4wg] One of our readers took it upon himself to jailbreak one of the Apple Store iPad 2 Smart Signs (video above). If you aren’t familiar, the Smart Sign is the iPad in front of each Apple product. As we revealed earlier this year, this sign explains and provides specifications for the product it sits beside. Customers are not able to actually use this iPad for anything but the Smart Sign application, but with the right top-secret gesture anything is possible....

Apple is rolling out the eighth macOS 10.12.4 beta for developer testing. The upcoming version of macOS Sierra is the first to bring Night Shift to the Mac. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is currently only available to developers and public beta testers. Public beta versions usually come a few days after developer versions if not the same day. macOS 10.12.4 beta also includes changes to Siri, Dictation, and Apple’s PDF API:...

We’ve been watching the progress of the new Chicago River Apple Store for several months now, and today DNAInfo has shared current shots of the construction progress. As the site reports, the latest Foster+Partners project looks like a giant MacBook Air landed next to the Chicago River… Back at the end of March, we saw curved glass and the roof to the upcoming Apple Store being put in place. DNAInfo adds today that the construction crew has installed a giant Apple logo seen from the aerial view that makes the metallic roof look like a giant MacBook from afar....

Update: Images of the new store’s facade below via @MikesiOSHelp and @thequinntaylor. With Apple’s redesigned company store set to open this weekend, details of changes to the new store have been highlighted in a memo to employees (via MacMagazine). Among the changes, the new Apple company store will for the first time sell Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad, Macs, and Apple Watch. The store is also re-opening with a new collection of Apple-branded merchandise including clothing, mugs, and other collectibles that are only available at the company store....

Just after its opening keynote this afternoon, Apple released OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 4 (build 12A239) and Server Preview 5 (build 12S254j) to developers. Unlike previous developer previews of Mountain Lion, Apple does not ask developers to look into any certain issues, perhaps because Mountain Lion is going to ship in July for $19.99 (a GM to come soon?). Apple also does not list any issues out of the ordinary, as you can see in the release note after the break....

After being updated with support for Apple Watch last month, the Apple Store app on iOS has been updated today with a pair of highly requested features. With today’s update, which bumps the app to version 3.3, users can now use Touch ID to view orders, access EasyPay receipts, and make reservations at retail locations. In addition to Touch ID integration, today’s update also adds support for two-step verification. This functionality appears to only apply when you place an order, however....

We told you a couple weeks ago about the possibility Apple was testing 3G MacBook Pro designs back in 2007 after a prototype popped up on Ebay recently. After reaching nearly $70,000 in bids, it looks like Apple is stepping in and requesting the device be returned. A report from CNET today sheds a little more light on the current situation of the seller, who was allegedly contacted by Apple to return the machine to local Apple employees after the company had the eBay listing removed citing copyright, trademark, and IP infringement....

Over the weekend, iOS security hacker Jonathan Zdziarski released a presentation claiming to show how Apple had purposefully made backdoor access points for a variety of system and user data on iOS devices, that would usually be locked and encrypted via the passcode. The legitimacy of the claims is still questionable. Apple has now commented on the matter, unsurprisingly denying any misconduct. Apple reiterates its previous statement: ‘Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services’....

Looks like we’re going to have to keep waiting for an Netflix-killer from Apple… Rumors were floating around last week that claimed Apple was on the verge of launching a new “iTunes Replay” service, which would allow users to re-download and/or stream TV shows and movies. Unfortunately, a new report from CNET claims Apple does not have the agreements in place to offer content from the big film studios via the cloud....

Apple has been working on new ways to let users know more about the battery life of their devices, and it seems that the company plans to add even more related features to iOS. The US Patent & Trademark Office this week granted Apple a patent for a new system that can predict and warn the user when the iPhone battery is expected to run out. As noted by Apple Insider, the patent is described as a “smart advice to charge notification....

Apple remains the most valuable brand in the world, in an annual ranking by market intelligence company Millward Brown, reported in Marketing Week. The Millward Brown Brandz rankings take into account both financial strength and brand equity, a measure of the value consumers place in a brand. Despite Apple’s share-price woes, the brand is regarded by consumers as the ‘gold standard’, says the report … An interesting way to look at the numbers is if the brand is worth $185b, and you add Apple’s cash hoard of $150b, you get pretty much to the company’s current market capitalisation – before factoring in anything else, like its product pipeline....