MacRumors

Apple today released a new 90-second holiday ad entitled "The Song", following in the footsteps of last year's "Misunderstood" ad.

"The Song" centers around a girl who stumbles upon an old record, apparently a gift from her grandmother to her grandfather from 1952. The record includes a message about not being able to be together for the holidays and then a rendition of "Love Is Here to Stay" sung by the grandmother.

Upon finding the old record, the girl secretly learns the tune's vocals and puts together her own accompaniment on several instruments, eventually recording her own portions of the song alongside her grandmother's. The girl then leaves an iPad mini with a note saying "A Duet, Press Play" for her grandmother, who listens to the duet between her much younger self and her granddaughter, bringing her to tears as she looks through the old photographs left along with the iPad by the girl.

The new ad is currently being featured on apple.com and should be added to Apple's YouTube site shortly.

As a part of the ongoing class action iPod lawsuit Apple is facing in court this week, former iTunes engineer Rod Schultz testified that he worked on a project that aimed to block non-iTunes clients and shut out third-party music providers competing with the iPod, reports The Wall Street Journal.

A former iTunes engineer testified in a federal antitrust case against Apple Friday that he worked on a project "intended to block 100% of non-iTunes clients" and "keep out third-party players" that competed with Apple’s iPod.

Subpoenaed by the plaintiffs to prove that Apple's moves to block outside music from playing on the iPod drove up prices, Schultz told the court that his project was codenamed "Candy" and that he didn't really want to talk about his work on iTunes from 2006 to 2007.

Schultz went on to reiterate Apple's argument in the case, suggesting the security measures introduced in iTunes reflected the digital music landscape at the time. Record companies, Apple says, demanded DRM and forced Apple to keep the iPod secure.

Both Schultz and Apple also argued Apple's DRM efforts were designed to protect its systems and user experiences, which could have been compromised by being opened up to third-party music players and file formats. Schultz did, however, say that this also led to iPod's market dominance.

Schultz was the final witness in the case, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she plans on sending the case to the jury for deliberations next week. The plaintiffs are requesting $350 million in damages, which could triple under antitrust laws.

Though Apple acquired its own headphone brand with the purchase of Beats Electronics earlier this year, the Cupertino company is demonstrating that there's still room for competitors in its Apple Store with the new addition of premium headphones by Master & Dynamic.

As of this week, Apple is now selling the Master & Dynamic MH30 On-Ear Headphones and the Master & Dynamic MH40 Over-Ear Headphones in its online store after launching in select retail stores last month. Priced quite similarly to premium Beats headphones, the $349 and $399 Master & Dynamic headphones focus on both design and high-quality audio, much like Beats.

In a July post, Forbes profiled Master & Dynamic's headphones, labeling them "the Anti-Beats by Dre." Rather than aiming for a more modern look with a bass heavy sound and flashy advertising, Forbes says Master & Dynamic headphones have been designed with a classic style, a focus on music, and a desire to provide a quality product for a niche market.

The niche that Jonathan Levine, the company's founder and CEO, saw was that Beats had blown open a massive market, but left a huge hole between premium headphones that prioritized style and those that focused on audio quality. Master & Dynamic seeks to wed design and quality in a way that attracts both audiophiles and users who wear their headphones as an accessory.

Master & Dynamic headphones, which are new to the market this year, have gotten largely positive reviews from music-focused publications, being lauded for their sound quality and their comfortable design, which includes earcups with calfskin and lambskin. One reviewer compared the headphones to the Parrot Zik, another set of high-quality headphones that have received excellent reviews.

In October, Apple removed Bose headphones from its Apple Stores, a move that some chalked up to Apple's reluctance to sell a product that competed with its line of Beats headphones, but Bose products began returning to the Apple Store earlier this week. It remains unclear why Bose headphones had been removed from Apple Stores, but it may have been related to a now-settled patent infringement lawsuit Bose levied against Beats.

Most Bose headphones have not yet returned to Apple's online and retail stores, but it is possible they'll be re-added in the near future. Though Apple has placed a heavy focus on Beats headphones, giving them a prominent place both in retail stores and online, Apple has shown few signs of cutting out all competition.

In addition to adding new headphones from competing brand Master & Dynamic, the company continues to sell a range of other headphones from companies like Bowers & Wilkins, Alpine, Parrot, SMS Audio, Marshall, Denon, Sennheiser, and more.

The popular PC "dystopian document thriller" Papers, Please launched on the iPad early this morning, after hitting Mac earlier this year and originally being released on Steam in August of 2013. As noted by our sister site TouchArcade, however, the new iOS version is bringing a bit of controversy with it as one of the game's somewhat adult elements has been removed after facing Apple's family-focused App Store censorship rules.

The game sets players as unlucky border control guards working for the fictional nation of Arstotzka. The entire game revolves around checking the documents of people attempting to immigrate into the country, cross-checking passports, ID cards, and work releases to ensure only those with proper documentation get past.

The focus of Apple's censorship lies in the full-body scanner introduced a few levels into the game that tasks the player with ensuring the person attempting to enter Arstotzka isn't carrying any kind of contraband. The PC, Mac, and Linux versions of the game depicted fully nude (albeit in low resolution given the nature of the game's graphics) versions of characters when put through this scanner, with an option to censor the nudity by including underwear on the characters.

Papers, Please for iPad, however, removes the choice from the equation, automatically covering the characters in underwear when scanned by the player. App Store rules have always skewed toward the more conservative, especially when compared to other content available uncensored through the iTunes Store, but even so, the App Store's rules are on occasion applied unevenly with some games from high-profile developers being approved without censored graphics.

Regardless of the minor censorship issue, the iPad version of Papers, Please appears to be an excellent port of the original game, including all 31 days and 20 possible endings of its desktop counterpart, with optimized touch screen controls enhanced for iPad. It also includes "unlockable multitouch support for faster paperwork, an enhanced inspection mode, Game Center achievements, leaderboards, mid-day resume, and more."

Papers, Please can be downloaded from the App Store for $5.99. [Direct Link]

Update 11:50 AM: Papers, Please developer Lucas Pope says that he was contacted by an Apple representative who reported that the initial rejection was the result of a misunderstanding and invited Pope to resubmit with the nudity option enabled. Pope says he will restore the option (defaulted to no nudity) this weekend and resubmit to Apple.

Manufacturing of Apple's A9 processor is reportedly underway in Samsung's Austin, Texas plant, according to Korea's ET News (via The Verge). Samsung is believed to be handling the bulk of the orders for the A9 using its 14-nanometer chip process, with rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) contributing a supplementary supply.

Samsung and TSMC have been competing for Apple's lucrative A9 processor contract after Apple in 2013 signed a multi-year deal with Taiwan's TSMC to supply A-series processors for Apple's iOS devices. TSMC took lead on the A8 chip, fabricating the SoC for both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The Taiwanese company also reportedly landed the contract to produce Apple's A8X chip, which is found in the new iPad Air 2.

Samsung semiconductor head Kim Ki-nam last month confirmed the company would begin producing 14-nanometer processors for Apple in a supply chain deal that will have a positive impact on Samsung's profits. A report from last year suggestsed TSMC would replace Samsung as Apple's lead chip supplier, but Samsung's technological progress with its 14-nanometer process may have swung the pendulum back in its favor.

Accolades for Apple's Zorlu store in Istanbul, Turkey continue to roll in with the company's Zorlu store winning the both the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence and the award for best Commercial or Retail Structures at the Structural Awards 2014. This Supreme award is given to the building that exemplifies the "finest example of structural engineering design" for the year.

Apple was recognized for the intricate and minimalist structural design of its flagship store in the upscale Zorlu shopping center in Istanbul, Turkey. Created in conjunction with structural engineering firm Eckersley O'Callaghan and architects Foster + Partners, the building features a unique cubic design with an all-glass ceiling and sides to take advantage of the natural lighting in the open area of the mall.

The judges found this to be a supreme example of collaboration between engineer and fabricator to achieve an outstanding, architecturally minimalist structure. The use of single panes of toughened laminated glass to support a lightweight ultra-thin CFRP roof without connections other than structural silicone, takes structural glass technology into a new dimension. A project where only engineering excellence and attention to detail can produce a result of such simplicity and purity of expression.

Apple's 20,000 square foot Zorlu store opened earlier this year with Apple's manager of retail stores Steve Cano on location for the grand opening. It was the first store in Turkey until the recent opening of the country's second Apple Store in Istanbul's Akasya Shopping Mall.

Apple's online stores in the United States and the United Kingdom have begun accepting PayPal payments, reports Re/code. PayPal was previously available as a payment option in iTunes and the App Store, but it is now also accepted for product purchases made at Apple.com.

Payments with PayPal can be made as of today from the online Apple Store by choosing the PayPal option when checking out. PayPal is not yet offered as a payment method in the Apple Store app, and it is unclear if it will be added in the future.

Along with accepting PayPal payments, Apple will also promote PayPal Credit payment methods, letting Apple online shoppers pay for items over $250 with monthly payments over the course of 18 months with no interest.

Now that Apple offers a PayPal competitor with Apple Pay, the two companies have had some minor disputes. Back in September, PayPal attacked Apple during the iCloud hacking that saw several celebrity accounts breached. Apple and PayPal were initially in talks to partner up for Apple Pay, but that deal may have soured due to a PayPal/Samsung deal that saw PayPal accepting payments authorized with the Samsung Galaxy S5 fingerprint sensor.

Corning, producer of Gorilla Glass, has been a long time partner of Apple. Its ultra tough Gorilla Glass has been used in several generations of iPhones and iPads, including the recent iPad Air 2 and the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

While Corning has published several videos that show how its Gorilla Glass is produced and tested, uBreakiFix recently visited the company's Gorilla Glass facility in Corning, New York, and has created a set of videos explaining how Gorilla Glass works and showing off some of the equipment that Corning uses to test Gorilla Glass.

The first video explains the details behind Corning's ion exchange glass strengthening procedure and its focus on "damage resistance," which sets Gorilla Glass apart from its competitors. It also shows tests between Gorilla Glass and regular glass, where Gorilla Glass significantly outperforms standard glass.

In the second video, uBreakiFixCo goes behind the scenes at Corning's Gorilla Glass research and testing facility to show off Corning's testing procedures and the toughness of Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass is able to withstand far more pressure and scratching than standard glass, which is one of the reasons why it's so popular with manufacturers, including Apple.

In November, Corning introduced the latest iteration of Gorilla Glass, Gorilla Glass 4. This next-generation Gorilla Glass is even more resistant than previous versions to glass shattering drops and it is able to survive 80 percent of face-down falls onto rough surfaces.

Corning's Gorilla Glass 4 is already shipping to manufacturers and should Apple choose to go with Gorilla Glass for its next-generation iPhones rather than sapphire as once again rumored, Gorilla Glass 4 could very well make an appearance in iPhones in 2015.

Earlier this week, leaked emails and data from the recent Sony hack revealed some interesting details on the Aaron Sorkin-scripted Steve Jobs biopic that's currently in the works, including Sorkin's desire to cast Tom Cruise as Steve Jobs.

Additional emails shared today by The Verge from Aaron Sorkin, prospective director David Fincher and Walter Isaacson shed more light on the project, including where filming will take place and what Fincher and Isaacson thought of the script.

Though Danny Boyle, director of Slumdog Millionare will direct the Steve Jobs movie, executives involved in the film originally hoped to have David Fincher, responsible for directing films like The Social Network, Fight Club, and Gone Girl, direct the biopic. In a February email, Fincher expressed quite a bit of excitement about the picture, calling it "a one man show."

Is great. It's a play, but a really quicksilver, cinematic one.
I would think you would want to cast and rehearse very carefully (couple months)
Shoot very quickly (4 or 5 weeks -- 8 days per ACT??)
The venues would be easy (we could probably find them all in town)
Editing is where we would spend time.
Can SONY market a ONE MAN SHOW(?)
Can you guys make the LENNY of it all, the MUST SEE?

Walter Isaacson, who penned the biography the movie is based on, was similarly excited about the film and told screenwriter Aaron Sorkin in an email that the script was "totally awesome" and that he was "deeply moved by the narrative arc and by the beautiful end."

Sorkin has clearly stated in the past that the film will consist of three continuous scenes covering the time ahead of three different product launches, but his emails reveal a bit more detail. According to Sorkin, the entire film will be able to be shot in just four locations that include "two auditoriums, a restaurant and a garage." Product launches covered are expected to be the debut of the original Macintosh, the unveiling of the NeXT computer, and the introduction of the iPod.

Still in the casting stages, the Steve Jobs biopic will star Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs and Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak. Jeff Daniels is in talks to play the role of John Sculley, and Universal Studios, which took over the film in November, is currently looking to cast several female roles, including Steve Jobs' daughter, Lisa Brennan.

Eight days after releasing and then quickly pulling Safari 8.0.1 for OS X Yosemite, Apple today released Safari 8.0.2 to the public.

The release notes for Safari 8.0.2 are identical to those for Safari 8.0.1 except for the addition of a line noting the problems with the 8.0.1 release.

- Fixes a rare issue in which some users were unable to access Safari after installing the 8.0.1 update.

Other bundled changes from Safari 8.0.1 include fixes for syncing history across devices, autofilling saved passwords, WebGL performance on Retina displays, and Firefox username and password import.

Update: Apple has also released Safari 7.1.2 for OS X Mavericks and Safari 6.2.2 for OS X Mountain Lion.

Apple recently updated its Made for iPhone (MFi) licensing guidelines for case manufacturers, requiring all future cases designed for the iPhone to protect the device from falls up to one meter on hard surfaces.

As described by sources that spoke to 9to5Mac, to comply with Apple's new guidelines, case manufacturers will need to ensure that a 1 meter (or 3.2 foot) drop from any orientation will not cause any damage to the phone, on its front, back, or sides.

Cases are also required to protect the iPhone's glass screen when laying face down on a surface, with a lip that offers a buffer of at least 1mm between the glass display and the surface or a case that covers the display entirely. Apple's own iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cases are compliant with these requirements, providing both drop protection and a ridge around the edges of the device to protect the display.

Apple has also updated its guidelines with several environmentally hazardous materials that are no longer able to be used in the construction of iPhone cases, including formaldehyde (used in paints and adhesives), phthalates (plasticizer used for increased flexibility), perfluorooctane sulfonate (fluorosurfactant), perfluorooctanoic acid (fluorosurfactant), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (a flame retardant), and polybrominated biphenyls (a flame retardant). Many of these substances are already restricted in both the United States and in Europe.

Apple's MFi licensing program requires manufacturers that create iPhone and iPad accessories to comply with a strict set of guidelines to achieve certification that ensures the accessory meets Apple's performance standards.

The MFi program enables third-party manufacturers to use of Apple technology like the headphone jack, the Lightning connector, and more, and compliance allows manufacturers to use the "Made for iPhone" logo on their packaging, which ensures consumers that accessories work properly with the iPhone and iPad.