Apple today shared two new "Shot on iPhone" ad spots on its YouTube channel, highlighting the video capturing capabilities of the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus. Both spots are 16 seconds in length and are accompanied by music, much like previous Shot on iPhone videos.
In the first video, shot by Tim W., a close-up of an ant is shown crawling across sand while it carries a seed pod.
The second video by Linda H., also wildlife-themed, features an adorable chipmunk filmed in slow motion stuffing a shelled peanut into its mouth.
In late June, Apple revamped its "Shot on iPhone" campaign to feature bright colors, updating all of its advertising imagery and billboards with new color-focused photos. It appears the video campaign will feature more varied video sequences as neither of today's two videos fits in with the revamped campaign.
Apple has been running its "Shot on iPhone" advertisements since early 2015 following the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It is likely to continue for some time as the upcoming iPhone 7 Plus is rumored to feature a much-improved dual-lens camera while the iPhone 7 will include a larger sensor.
Apple today released iTunes 12.4.2 with a fix for a bug that caused playback issues when listening to Apple Music tracks shorter than 60 seconds. Whenever a track shorter than 60 seconds was played, the next song would fail to play and cause a state of perpetual buffering.
This update resolves a playback issue with short Apple Music songs in your Up Next queue.
Today's iTunes update can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
MacRumors readers first discovered the playback bug towards the end of June and MacRumors was able to replicate it on Macs running OS X 10.11.5 and iTunes 12.4.1. It appeared to be caused by the way Apple Music queues songs, preparing to stream the next song in a playlist or album when the current song was 60 seconds from the end. When a song was less than a minute long, the next song failed to initiate.
Apple has introduced a fix for a persistent and frustrating Apple Music bug that caused pre-existing music libraries to sometimes be improperly matched with Apple Music songs, reports The Loop.
To make sure songs are correctly matched, Apple is now using iTunes Match audio fingerprint for Apple Music, a more accurate matching method than the metadata matching that was previously employed. Apple Music matching now also offers up DRM-free music files, just like iTunes Match.
Apple has been quietly rolling out iTunes Match audio fingerprint to all Apple Music subscribers. Previously Apple was using a less accurate metadata version of iTunes Match on Apple Music, which wouldn't always match the correct version of a particular song. We've all seen the stories of a live version of a song being replaced by a studio version, etc.
Using iTunes Match with audio fingerprint, those problems should be a thing of the past.
According to The Loop, the version of iTunes Match that is now available to Apple Music subscribers is actually the same iTunes Match service that iTunes users have been paying for as a separate subscription, with all Apple Music subscribers now eligible to use the full version of iTunes Match at no cost. Confusingly, while Apple Music had song matching available previously, it was not the same service that was offered through iTunes Match.
Current Apple Music and iTunes Match subscribers can let their iTunes Match subscriptions expire while continuing to get the same functionality, and should see no changes.
iTunes Match users who are not Apple Music subscribers will need to continue to pay for iTunes Match. Apple Music subscribers will know if they have access to iTunes Match because there will be a "Matched" label in the iCloud Status of iTunes on the Mac.
Users who had songs matched incorrectly via iTunes Match will see their songs rematched to the correct song thanks to the changes that Apple has implemented, and no downloaded copies of songs will be deleted.
Apple is gradually rolling out access to iTunes Match, switching one to two percent of Apple Music subscribers over to the new version each day. The rollout will take some time, and Apple is monitoring the process to make sure there are no issues.
Apple today released iOS 9.3.3 to the public, marking the third minor update to iOS 9 since iOS 9.3 launched in March of 2016. In testing since May 23, there were five betas of iOS 9.3.3 released to developers and public beta testers ahead of the public release of the software.
Today's iOS 9.3.3 release is available as an over-the-air update for all iOS 9 users and it can also be downloaded through iTunes.
As a small 9.x.x update, iOS 9.3.3 focuses mainly on under-the-hood performance improvements and bug fixes rather than outward-facing changes.
iOS 10 brings a host of new features, including a revamped Lock screen experience, an overhauled Messages app with new functionality and its own App Store, a new Photos app with object and facial recognition, a redesigned Music app, a centralized HomeKit app, and a Siri SDK for developers.
Apple today released a new update for tvOS, the operating system designed to run on the fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS 9.2.2 comes two months after the release of tvOS 9.2.1, a small bug fix update, and almost four months after the launch of tvOS 9.2, a significant update that introduced features like Bluetooth keyboard support and dictation.
The new tvOS 9.2.1 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System --> Software Update. Those who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to the new 9.2.2 operating system automatically.
As another minor 9.x.x update, tvOS 9.2.2 focuses on performance improvements and bug fixes to address issues discovered since the release of tvOS 9.2.1. No major outward-facing changes or obvious bug fixes were discovered during the beta testing process.
Apple is already working on the next-generation update to tvOS, tvOS 10. tvOS 10 brings features like improved Siri capabilities, single sign-on cable authentication, games that can require a controller, and more.
Apple today released a new software update for the Apple Watch, upgrading watchOS 2.2.1 to version 2.2.2. The watchOS 2.2.2 update comes two months after the release of watchOS 2.2.1, a minor update that also focused mainly on bug fixes.
The 2.2.2 update can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
Apple only seeded one beta of watchOS 2.2.2 to developers before releasing the update, which appears to be minor in scale. During the beta testing period, no outward-facing changes or obvious bug fixes were discovered in the update.
watchOS 2 will be succeeded by watchOS 3, which has already been provided to developers for testing purposes. watchOS 3 introduces major interface and navigation changes to the Apple Watch along with new apps like Breathe, new watch faces, and speed improvements that allow some apps to load instantly when opened.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 3 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the second beta and more than a month after first unveiling watchOS 3 at its 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.
The third watchOS 3 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on an iPhone by going to General --> Software update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the Apple Watch charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 3 introduces significant changes to the watchOS operating system. A new dock, accessible by pressing the side button, replaces Glances and houses 10 favorite first and third-party apps. Apps on the dock are kept continually up to date and are stored in memory for instant launch times.
Activity Sharing options allow Apple Watch owners to share workout and activity information with friends, and there are new options for Wheelchair users. A Breathe app guides users through daily deep breathing sessions, an Apple Watch can unlock a Mac, and Apple has added apps for Reminders, Find My Friends, and accessing one's heartbeat.
Watch faces support more complications, there are three new watch faces to choose from, including a new Activity watch face, and an SOS feature will make sure an option to get help in an emergency is always right at your fingertips. On the iPhone, there's a new Face Gallery for customizing Apple Watch faces, and watchOS 3 allows the Apple Watch to be located via Find My iPhone.
For full details on the new features coming in watchOS 3, which will be released to the public this fall, make sure to check out our watchOS 3 roundup.
Apple today released OS X 10.11.6 to the public, marking the sixth update to the El Capitan operating system that was first released on September 30, 2015. OS X 10.11.6 comes two months after the release of OS X 10.11.5, a small bug fix update. OS X 10.11.6 has been in testing since May 23.
The OS X 10.11.6 update can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store. It is available to all OS X El Capitan users.
Many of the updates to the El Capitan operating system have focused primarily on under-the-hood improvements, bug fixes, and security enhancements instead of outward-facing changes, and OS X 10.11.6 continues that trend.
OS X El Capitan will be followed by macOS Sierra, the next-generation Mac operating system that Apple announced at the 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference. macOS Sierra includes features like Siri integration, storage optimization, Photos improvements, auto unlocking with the Apple Watch, cross-device copy and paste, and more.
Apple today provided developers with the third beta of tvOS 10, the next-generation operating system designed to run on the fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS 10 beta 3 comes two weeks after the release of tvOS beta 2 and more than a month after the operating system was first shown off at Apple's 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference
tvOS betas are more difficult to install than beta updates for iOS and OS X. Installing the tvOS beta requires the Apple TV to be connected to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, with the software downloaded and installed via iTunes or Apple Configurator. Once a beta profile has been installed on the device through iTunes, new beta releases will be available over the air.
tvOS 10 builds on the features initially introduced in tvOS last October, bringing expanded Siri capabilities with topic-based search, Live Tune-In for automatically accessing live channels, and options for managing HomeKit accessories.
Single-Sign On allows users to sign in and authenticate cable credentials just once instead of requiring authentication in all cable-supported apps, games are now able to require controllers, and there are new features for Photos and Music.
A dark mode offers a better visual experience for darker rooms, universal apps are automatically downloaded, and there's a new Apple TV remote for iOS devices that mirrors the Siri Remote.
Today's update is available as an over-the-air download to those who installed the first beta or the beta configuration profile and it's available for direct download through the Apple Developer Center.
iOS 10 is a major iOS update with a host of new features and design tweaks, including a new Lock screen experience with 3D Touch-enabled notifications, a more easily accessible camera, a redesigned Control Center, and a new widgets screen.
Messages has been entirely overhauled with features that include background animations, bubble effects, Digital Touch, handwritten notes, Tapback replies, predictive emoji, and its own dedicated App Store, and Photos has gained impressive facial and object recognition capabilities along with a Memories feature for rediscovering forgotten moments.
Over the beta testing period, Apple will tweak the features introduced in iOS 10, and in iOS 10 beta 2, Apple launched the Messages App Store and added organ donation signup functionality, among other changes. New changes in beta three will be listed below.
iOS 10 is currently available to developers and public beta testers, with a full public release planned for the fall. For full details on iOS 10, make sure to check out our iOS 10 roundup, and for details on what's new in beta 3, make sure to take a look at our dedicated tidbits post.
Apple shares rose above $100 in intraday trading today for the first time since June 6, just weeks after the stock hit its latest bottom around the $92 mark.
AAPL is up over 1 percent on the day at the time of publishing, contributing to a slight rise in the Dow Jones stock index on the day.
Beyond a short-lived rebound in March and April, Apple shares had steadily declined since the second half of 2015. Some investors have expressed concerns over Apple's recent slowdown, including its first quarterly revenue drop since 2003 and first-ever drop in iPhone sales last quarter.
AAPL is still trading for markedly lower than its year-ago price of around $132, but some analysts believe the stock is undervalued and due for a breakout.
A few weeks ago, analyst Brian White of Wall Street brokerage firm Drexel Hamilton listed AAPL as a "buy" based on a target price of $185. Other firms like Goldman Sachs and S&P Capital IQ, a division of McGraw Hill Financial, have set lower price targets of between $120 and $130 in recent months.
Apple will release its fiscal third quarter earnings results on Tuesday, July 26 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time, with a conference call to discuss the report to follow at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The third quarter will likely mark a year-over-year decline, based on Apple's guidance of between $41 billion and $43 billion in revenue.
Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data for the U.S. cities of Honolulu, Hawaii and Kansas City, Missouri, enabling iPhone users in the areas to navigate using public transportation, including buses and commuter rails.
Transit routing options in the Kansas City metropolitan area include RideKC buses and the downtown KC Streetcar. Directions extend to most suburbs in both Kansas and Missouri, including Overland Park, Olathe, Independence, Lee's Summit, Shawnee, Blue Springs, Lenexa, and other smaller communities.
Transit routing options in Honolulu include TheBus buses, with directions extending to destinations across the entire Oahu island.
Apple introduced Transit in Maps as part of iOS 9 in select cities around the world, including Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and 30 cities in China.
British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline recently announced the launch of a new clinical study, Patient Rheumatoid Arthritis Data from the Real World (PARADE), which will gather medical data and patient feedback using an iOS app powered by Apple's ResearchKit. Notably, GSK is the first major pharmaceutical company to implement ResearchKit into its research, which it hopes assists in lessening "the burden of patients in clinical studies by reducing the frequency of doctor visits."
The company noted that while it's "not testing a medicine right now," ResearchKit is helping put it on the path of a medicinal development process -- centered mainly around rheumatoid arthritis -- thanks to the insight and health goals of each patient that Apple's research framework provides. Through surveys and the sensors on an iPhone, the GSK PARADE app gathers info on symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, including joint pain, fatigue, and mood.
"Our goal is to engage with patients in a new way that integrates the research into their daily lives versus the traditional model that requires patients to travel to their doctors’ offices," said Rob DiCicco, Vice President of Clinical Innovation at GSK. "By making research as easy and accessible as possible for patients, we have the potential to disrupt the model for how we conduct research in the future and ultimately improve patient health."
The current goal is to track the activity and "quality of life measures" of 300 patients over a 3-month period using GSK's app. On the patient side of things, users will be able to access a dashboard which shows their own personal recordings and data from the study that they can easily share with their own healthcare providers to further investigate into more effective treatment and recovery plans.
GSK encourages anyone 21 years or older to participate in the ResearchKit-enabled trial by downloading the GSK PARADE app for free on the App Store. [Direct Link]
British chip designer and major Apple partner ARM Holdings is set to be acquired by Japanese firm Softbank for $31.4 billion, the BBC has revealed.
According to the report, the board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer, which amounts to a 43 percent premium on its closing market value of $22.2 billion last week.
Shares in the U.K. technology firm surged by 45 percent at the open of the London Stock Exchange this morning on news of the deal, adding $10 billion to ARM's market value.
The Cambridge-based company was founded in 1990 and employs 3,000 staff. The acquisition is said to be the biggest ever purchase of a European technology company, one that will be funded by Softbank's own cash reserves and a long-term loan from Japan's Mizuho Bank. Commenting on the deal, chairman and chief executive of Softbank, Masayoshi Son, said:
This is one of the most important acquisitions we have ever made, and I expect ARM to be a key pillar of SoftBank's growth strategy going forward.
We have long admired ARM as a world renowned and highly respected technology company that is by some distance the market leader in its field. ARM will be an excellent strategic fit with the Softbank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the Internet of Things.
ARM designs the processors that power all of Apple's iOS devices, as well as most of Samsung's smartphones, and receives royalties on each chip made to its specifications. Last year over 15 billion ARM-designed processors were shipped, up 3 billion on the previous year.
Softbank is one of the world's biggest technology companies, having previously acquired Vodafone's Japanese operations and U.S. telecoms company Sprint. The latter $20 billion deal was the biggest foreign acquisition by a Japanese firm at the time.
Following the announcement of today's deal, ARM said it would keep its headquarters in Cambridge and double the number of its staff over the next five years. Softbank also intends to preserve the UK tech firm's organization, including its existing senior management structure and partnership-based business model.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly secured exclusive orders for the A11 processor expected to power Apple's 2017 "iPhone 8".
According to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN), the Taiwan-based foundry will be the sole supplier of Apple's next-generation A11 chip, which will be built on a 10nm FinFET process.
TSMC co-CEO Mark Liu announced at the company's recent investors meeting that its first 10nm customer product has been produced with "satisfactory yield" and that three products had already been "taped out".
Taping out refers to the initial design of the chip having been completed for creation of the masks that will be used to print the actual chips, although further tweaks are likely as test production is carried out. TSMC is said to have begun taping out the design for Apple's A11 processor in May. Xilinx, MediaTek, and HiSilicon are said to be the other customers that will use the company's 10nm process technology.
TSMC is already the exclusive manufacturer of Apple's A10 chip which will power the iPhone 7 range expected to launch this September. TSMC is thought to have reached the deal with Apple thanks to its advanced device packaging techniques, capable of higher-width memory buses and lower-power operation, which for consumers means better performance and efficiency.
TSMC's production for Apple's A11 chips is expected to start generating revenues for the company in the first quarter of 2017, with revenues to "ramp steeply" throughout the rest of the year, according to Liu.
Apple is said to have a radical redesign planned for 2017's "iPhone 8", possibly coming with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that includes an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor and front-facing camera.
A new video and images posted to Chinese microblogging site Weibo and picked up this morning by NWE offer a side-by-side comparison of an iPhone 7 casing against Apple's current flagship iPhone 6s.
Embedded below, the new video runs to over two and a half minutes and gives a much better idea of the prospective design than last week's seven-second clip.
Whatever the origin of the assembled 4.7-inch iPhone 7 unit, it matches the Space Grey of the iPhone 6s, and features the larger camera and repositioned antenna bands seen in previous images and alleged design leaks. It also clearly shows a lack of headphone jack, with a second speaker grille alongside the Lightning port where it used to be.
The model comparison offers an idea of the relative size of the new camera lens and the surrounding bezel that protrudes from the body of the phone. The video and images also line up with previous rumors suggesting the iPhone 7 will retain the dimensions of the iPhone 6s.
Pokémon Go launched this morning in 26 new countries across Europe, capping a blockbuster week in which the augmented reality-based title became the most popular mobile game ever and saw Nintendo shares set record trading volumes in Tokyo.
The announcement of the multi-country launch was made earlier today on the official Pokémon GoFacebook page.
Pokémon Go is available in twenty-six new countries. As of tonight, Trainers living in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland are able to download Pokémon GO from the Play Store or App Store.
As a major market, France remains conspicuously absent from the launch list, while rollout in Canada and across the Asian region has yet to begin. Users in several countries have also reported login problems with the game since this morning's announcement, suggesting continuing server-side issues for developers Niantic Labs.
Speaking to Reuters yesterday, chief executive of Niantic John Hanke said Pokémon Go will release in around 200 countries "relatively soon" as developers work to bolster server capacity to enable the wider rollout.
Those comments helped Nintendo shares surge another 10 percent on Friday, setting a record in daily trading volume for an individual stock on the Tokyo exchange. The shares have climbed 86 percent this week, adding $17 billion in market value.
Meanwhile in New York City, a stampede was caught on camera on Friday near Central Park, where a "Vaporeon" pokémon character reportedly showed up. People were seen jumping from cars to capture the creature.
According to The Verge, similar scenes have taken place around the U.S. where rare game characters have appeared, with huge crowds converging on locations such as the Boston Common, Provo City Library in Utah, in Des Moines, Iowa, in Bellevue, Washington, and Altamonte Springs, Florida.
Earlier this week, U.S. mobile carrier T-Mobile announced it plans to offer its customers free data to play the game, while Sprint and affiliated Boost Mobile stores are providing charging stations to players, and even training up store staff to help customers locate nearby game features.
Niantic has also revealed it is considering introducing a sponsorship scheme similar to one it has with its other AR-based game Ingress, which assigns sponsors' stores and vending machines as spots in the game.
Update: The Pokémon Go Servers Twitter account has linked to an article by The Independent claiming that a hacking group called PoodleCorp has claimed responsbility for taking down the servers using a denial-of-service attack. Gamers are advised to check back with the account for further updates.
Update 2: Pokémon Go is now available in Canada.
Update 3: Niantic has announced it postponed the launch of the game in France "as a sign of respect for the French people in this time of national mourning." The game was expected to release Friday, July 15 in the country, but the company didn't hint as to when the expected debut is now set to happen.
Apple has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board calling for a simplified way to pay songwriters and music publishers for streaming music, according to Billboard. While the change would benefit labels, artists and publishers, it would make it more difficult for streaming services like Spotify to continue offering free tiers.
Apple, which has always had a gift for creative simplicity, wants to make this process easier and more transparent, according to a copy of the filing obtained by Billboard. The company’s proposal to the Copyright Royalty Board suggests a simple, “all-in” statutory rate that would be “fair, simple and transparent, unlike the incredibly complicated structure that currently exists.”
Apple's suggested rate is 9.1 cents per 100 plays, which would make the songwriting royalties for 100 streams equal to the royalties for a single song download. However, the change would make it more expensive for companies like Spotify and YouTube to offer free music tiers.
The current system sees streaming companies paying songwriters and publishers between 10.5 and 12 percent of their revenue using what Billboard terms a "complicated formula." The money is then divided into public performance and mechanical royalties, which is then paid to publishers and "collected societies." Currently, Apple and other streaming music providers don't have to pay publishers the statutory rate set by the Royalty Board because they can negotiate their own deals. However, negotiations between publishers and streaming services would start at a different place should Apple's proposal become rule.
The Copyright Royalty Board, which is made up of a panel of three judges, is still in the early stages of determining potential statuary rates for 2018 to 2022 so it's unclear whether Apple's proposal would take hold or ever come to be.
While Apple Music has garnered about 15 million paying subscribers in the year since its launch, rival Spotify has twice as many, with the company citing Apple's entrance into paid music streaming as a boon to its business. Despite user and revenue growth, Spotify continues to operate at a loss due to expensive royalties and revenue sharing with music labels, with recent losses growing 10 percent to $195.7 million.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Apple today released a new update for tvOS, the operating system designed to run on the fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS 9.2.2 comes two months after the 
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly secured exclusive orders for the A11 processor expected to power Apple's 2017 "iPhone 8".
