Apple

As part of his tour throughout India, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this past week to discuss the company’s plans in the country. This isn’t the first time the two have met, but this meeting comes as Foxconn is planning a manufacturing plant in India while Apple plans to open two new establishments, as well as three retail stores.

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Earlier this week, we saw a leaked image appear showing the 4.7-inch model and its potential support for laser auto focus. It’s been rumored for a while now that the iPhone 7 Plus, however, will see even more camera updates with a new dual-camera setup on the back. In March, leaked images emerged claiming to show the alleged dual-camera module and now a new leak from Weibo has emerged corroborating the earlier images and showing potential for a 256GB storage tier (via Steven Hemmerstoffer).

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Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down for an extended interview with NDTV while in India this week and in it discusses the latest on Apple Pay negotiations, bringing Apple retail to India, and discussions with carriers and government officials while visiting the country.

While noting several large investments Apple is announcing in India, including the opening of a new development office that will create 4,000 jobs and a new accelerator program for app developers, Cook also confirmed talks with Indian banks for Apple Pay and much more:

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Update: Here’s Apple’s comment on the matter:

We’re working on a fix for an issue impacting a small number of iPad units that are receiving an error when trying to update the software. We’ll issue an update as quickly as possible”

Apple has today pulled iOS 9.3.2 for the 9.7 inch iPad Pro, following reports that users were seeing their iPads bricked after updating to the latest iOS release on Monday. The bug does not affect the larger, 12.9 inch iPad Pro. After updating, users seeing the bug would be prompted to Connect to iTunes on the iPad display. However, aside from an Error 56 debug message, the device could not be restored through iTunes or DFU.

Apple acknowledged the issue yesterday in a press statement, suggesting affected users who cannot restore through iTunes should instead contact Apple Support. There is no word on a temporary fix for users who have already been impacted by the problem. It is likely Apple will re-release iOS 9.3.2 for the relevant models soon.

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While recent reports have detailed talks between Apple and BMW related to Apple’s behind-the-scenes electric car project, BMW has long been one of the last major holdouts to bring Apple’s current in-dash CarPlay platform to its vehicles. That looks like it will change later this year when at least two models will get support for CarPlay.
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As CEO Tim Cook was meeting with Prime Minister Modi and partying with Bollywood stars, Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson was also in India. As reported by Yahoo India, the Apple executive was visiting “solar mamas” and a rural school where students were being taught via iPad lessons.

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Earlier this year, we reported that Mac OS X 10.12 would bring Siri support as one of the tentpole features. Apple is likely to introduce the next big update to OS X in just a few weeks at its annual WWDC event, and now we’re learning a bit more about what the company has in store. A new report today brings to light the possibility that Apple could add Touch ID support to OS X with 10.12, as well.

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Earlier this year, rumors started circulating that Apple would switch to a glass design for the 2017 iPhone lineup, somewhat reminiscent of that of the iPhone 4. Now Carter Technology chief executive Allen Horng says that only one model of the 2017 iPhone lineup will adopt that glass design. Carter Technology is a key iPhone casing supplier.

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In a press release, Apple has announced it is opening a new development office in Hyderabad, India. The team located here will apparently focus on improving Apple Maps, which is deeply integrated across Apple’s hardware and software as dedicated apps and embedded in other services, like Siri. The new center will create up to 4000 new jobs in the local economy. It is currently unclear as to the nature of the workforce, as Apple has preferred to keep its core software engineering team in California with most working solely in Cupertino.

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According to a new report from the New York Post, Apple is looking to expand on its iconic Fifth Avenue retail location. While the company renovates the historic cube designed building, it will open in “some or all” of the 61,000-square foot FAO Schwarz space in the GM building. The report notes, however, that the temporary expansion could turn in to a permanent one seeing as how cramped the Fifth Avenue store has become.

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Last week, we drew attention to a blog post from James Pinkstone in which he described how iTunes Match deleted 122GB of his personal music collection went viral. Apple confirmed the issue on Friday and rolled out a potential fix with iTunes 12.4 yesterday, but Pinkstone today has shared a new blog post detailing the extreme lengths to which Apple went in order to track down what exactly caused the problem in the first place.

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Leaks regarding the iPhone 7 have been plentiful so far this year. We’ve seen a handful of schematic drawings, component pictures, and a few purported photos of the device itself. Now, another set of images has appeared on Chinese social media site Weibo claiming to show the upcoming 4.7-inch iPhone 7 variant. As has been reported in the past, the design is largely similar to that of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, but with a few tweaks. (via LettemSvetemApplem).

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Economic Daily News is reporting that Apple suppliers have begun hiring en-masse this month as they prepare for assembly of Apple’s upcoming flagship iPhone, the iPhone 7. The new iPhones (coming in 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch sizes) are expected to debut in the fall, following tradition. The report comes via CNBC.

Interestingly, the report notes that the surge in hiring at Foxconn and Pegatron is happening earlier than usual (‘at least a month earlier’). Apparently, the new Apple iPhone includes a ‘more complex design’ than previous models meaning suppliers need more time to train staff about the assembly process. This somewhat contradicts previous leaks in the rumor mill which indicated the iPhone 7 would look very similar to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus …

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A new report from CBC News details the progress being made to unlock the FM radio chip that many smartphones feature. Many smartphones have an untapped FM chip inside them that users are unable to take advantage of and while many Android devices are confirmed to have the chip, the iPhone also has despite Apple not officially recognizing it.

A petition has been running in the United States to urge carriers and manufacturers to unlock the hidden FM chip in smartphones. The campaign has gained significant steam since its inception, so much so that carriers are starting to agree to unlock the chip…but Apple has yet to comment.

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Apple today has updated GarageBand for Mac and iOS to “celebrate the rich history of Chinese music.” The update for both platforms includes a variety of new sounds and instruments that cater towards the Chinese music industry. The update brings GarageBand for iOS to version 2.1.1 and GarageBand for OS X to version 10.1.2.

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Last month, Apple saw its iBooks and Movies services go offline in China amid review by government regulators and now it looks as if the company’s struggles in the country may not end there. According to a new report from The New York Times, Apple is among a handful of foreign tech companies that the Chinese government is scrutinizing in fear of security threats.

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In addition to releasing software updates across iOS, Mac, and watchOS, Apple today has released an update to iTunes. The update brings iTunes to version 12.4 and includes the design tweaks that were initially rumored earlier this month.

iTunes 12.4 introduces a variety of interface tweaks that Apple says make it easier to navigate the app and switch between different kinds of content. First off, there’s a new media picker that allows users to quickly switch between Music, Movies, TV shows, and more.

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It looks like drivers in the UK could soon be able to store their driver’s license within Apple’s Wallet app on iPhones as CEO of the country’s Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) today shared the image of the work in progress feature above.

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Google parent company Alphabet has once again surpassed Apple in terms of value based on market capitalization. CNBC points out that Alphabet (GOOG) saw its market cap around $498.56 billion during trading today, while Apple (AAPL) saw its market cap down around $496.69 billion.

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Even though the FBI’s battle with Apple over the San Bernardino iPhone is essentially over, FBI director James Comey today explained that the case is just the beginning of litigation over accessing smartphones and other devices. As reported by Reuters, Comey explained that there will be more litigation between the FBI and manufacturers over accessing locked devices, noting that encryption is “essential tradecraft” of terrorist groups.

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