Apple

Apple’s in-store “magical” Apple Watch displays have brought about a variety of questions since they first appeared back on April 10th. Thanks to new documents from the Brazilian regulatory process, shared by BlogDoiPhone, we now know a bit more about how the Apple Watch display units are set up. The documents and accompanying images show how a special, proprietary band is connected to the Watch that incorporates a built-in Lightning cable and charges the device.

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Apple Watch + Music

We’ve reported extensively on what Apple has in store for its new revamped music service that will come alongside an international expansion of iTunes Radio, and today reports from Russian publication Vedomosti (via Billboard) hint that Russia will be one market Apple is aiming to launch in soon…
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Apple’s plan to manage upcoming HomeKit-compatible accessories could revolve around a new iOS app called “Home,” according to sources familiar with the app. Introduced at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, HomeKit is an Apple initiative designed to encourage accessory makers to integrate “connected home” accessories such as Wi-Fi garage door openers, smart thermostats akin to Nest’s Learning Thermostat, and wireless door locks with iPhones and iPads. Using Siri or the Home app, users will be able to remotely control parts of their homes directly from iOS devices…

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Apple has slightly refreshed the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, added a more affordable Retina 5K iMac, and an iPhone related surprise. Along with that, we have a new Watch OS update and sad news about Apple’s rumored TV plans. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed…

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During his trip last week across China, Apple CEO Tim Cook held a meeting at Apple’s China headquarters with several employees in attendance, according to sources with knowledge of the briefing. Cook reportedly reiterated several recent China-focused announcements, including the new forest-focused environmental initiatives and improvements for education, but he also mentioned some new tidbits regarding the upcoming retail launch for the Apple Watch and the rollout of Apple Pay for China…

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Earlier today, investor Carl Icahn published an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook in which he predicted that Apple would enter the television market with 55-inch and 65-inch UHD TVs. This evening, however, The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple currently has no plans to enter the highly competitive TV market.

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Ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Apple’s streaming music service next month, Spotify today has revealed a new agreement with longtime Apple partner Starbucks. Spotify will team up with the coffee giant to offer enhanced music playback controls for both users and employees in 7,000 U.S.-based Starbucks locations.

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A new flyover of Apple’s under construction Campus 2 project in Cupertino, California gives us one of our closest look yet at the site. We also get our first detailed look at work started on Apple’s new auditorium on the campus where it plans to host events when the project is complete.

The video below comes courtesy of MyithZ who was able to get these shots from just 120ft up, much closer than previous drone flyovers and Apple’s own aerial shots.

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As expected, Tim Cook this weekend gave the commencement address at George Washington University’s graduation ceremony. Cook, who also received an honorary doctorate for public service during the ceremony, was selected by the university after being suggested by students.

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Update: Apple confirmed the acquisition.

Apple, which has already acquired a variety of companies to help its Maps team, appears to have recently purchased San Francisco-based GPS company Coherent Navigation. The company was founded in 2008 by a pair of engineers from Stanford and Cornell. While Apple and Coherent Navigation have yet to confirm the acquisition, several pieces of evidence support the idea.

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Tim Cook has shared photos from his recent trip to China where the Apple CEO spoke to media about upcoming initiatives in the country and visited new Apple retail stores opened in the region. The photos (above and below) were posted to Cook’s new Weibo account. The head Apple exec started posting to the Chinese microblogging site, much like he does on Twitter, earlier this month.
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In a recent change to its iCloud syncing service, Apple has raised the total number of contacts it will store and sync across your devices before hitting the maximum allowed. Previously iCloud enforced a hard limit of syncing 25,000 contacts, but an updated support document (via iFun.de) highlights that limit doubling now to a total of 50,000 contacts…

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In a blog post published to the company’s website today, creators of the Oculus Rift VR headset said it is putting development of the platform for Mac OS X on hold in order to focus on Windows:
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For the last month, I’ve been using Apple’s new 12-inch Retina MacBook almost exclusively. There’s no denying that’s it’s underpowered when compared to other models on the market, but is its portability worth the performance sacrifice? Can you really get anything done with a relatively small display, an Intel Core M processor, and more importantly, zero traditional USB ports?

This won’t be an in-depth review of features and performance (check out Zac’s take on the MacBook for an in-depth look), but instead, I’ve mainly focused on my personal experiences over the month I’ve been using it. Does the Retina MacBook live up to the hype? Let’s go ahead and find out…

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Apple recently voiced concerns over the potential sale of its customer data as part of RadioShack’s bankruptcy filing. As an authorized reseller of Apple’s products, RadioShack is sitting on a collection of customer data of Apple product owners. According to Law360, Apple has formally objected to any data on its product sales through RadioShack being made available for sale citing the reseller agreement between the two companies and its interest of protecting personal data.
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Update: Rdio officially announced the new plan today.

Apple is slated to launch its streaming music service next month, but Rdio is trying to cut off a portion of Apple’s market with a new service. BuzzFeed News reports that Rdio plans to introduce a $3.99 a month streaming music service. The service, called Rdio Select, will be significantly limited, which is to be expected given the low price point…

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Rumors are already floating around about Apple’s iPhone 6s and we’ve got the rundown on everything. Along with that, we discuss WWDC 2015 and our expectations for software and hardware announcements. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed…

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Greenpeace today released an update to its “Clicking Clean: A Guide to Building the Green Internet” report, showing that Apple continues to lead among tech companies when it comes to renewable energy efforts. The report notes that Apple has been “most aggressive” with its renewable energy projects including a number of new initiatives and continuing to maintain “its claim of a 100% renewably powered cloud for another year.”
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Apple subsidiary FileMaker today introduced version 14, the first major update since 2013, of its popular iOS and Mac-based platform, which includes the FileMaker Pro, Go, and Server software suites. This new version focuses on separate enhancements for speed across the different software versions, with the Mac and Windows applications gaining improved features for productivity, and the iOS Go apps for iPad and iPhone receiving end-to-end redesigns for iOS 8. Below, we break down the most significant new features for the Pro, Go, and Server versions.

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