Apple isn’t just beating the computer industry in terms of growth and profitability (anyone mention that to Michael Dell last night?), but also seems set to kick against the prevailing economic climate, at least for now – and has grabbed now nearly half of the lucrative US student market. A recent survey by Student Monitor found that 13% of all undergraduates expect to buy a new notebook this fall. “Of those, 43% say they plan to get a MacBook or MacBook Pro, nearly double those who said they expected to get a Dell notebook, and seven times as many as those who plan to buy from HP,” Business Week reports....

Apple is finally rolling out its Apple News Format to all publishers, after an initial announcement at WWDC 2015. The format lets anyone, big or small, create rich multimedia stories within the Apple News app, featuring panoramas, videos, animations and more. Until today, Apple News Format was limited to exclusive launch partners (like Wired) whilst everyone else had to resort to basic RSS import. Publishers interested in using the format should check out the documentation on Apple’s website....

Apple has lost its iPhone game team leader, Graeme Devine, who quit the iPhone Game Technologies division last Friday. Formerly of id Software where he had a hand in development of Quake 3 for Mac, Devine says he quit Apple in order to return to game development — with a focus on titles for the iPhone and iPad. Speaking to Kotaku he explained that his role was to help boost development of better titles for Apple’s iOS platforms, “My job there was basically to make gaming on the iOS devices fantastic,” he says....

All of today’s best deals are now up for the taking and headlined by a price cut on the Apple MagSafe Battery Pack at $90. That’s alongside a collection of official Apple Watch Sport Bands from $29 and the first discount on Philips Hue’s new Gradient Ambiance Lightstrip. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Apple MagSafe Battery Pack is an iPhone 13 must-have Apple’s new MagSafe Battery Pack arrives with a compact design to refuel your iPhone 12 or new iPhone 13 with MagSafe....

At MWC 2019, Google announced Assistant for Messages on Android, expanded availability in Google Maps, and more languages for bilingual support. The next feature for Google Home speakers and Smart Displays appears to be Apple Music integration. This evening (via MacRumors), Apple Music began appearing as a supported service for Google Assistant. The Apple streaming service can be selected as the default audio provider on Google devices. It joins YouTube Music and Play Music, as well as Spotify, Pandora, and Deezer in the U....

Apple today updated its App Store review guidelines regarding some of the features introduced with iOS 13, besides the compatibility of apps with the latest iPhone and iPad models, and more. The company notes that 77% of all Apple devices shipped in the last four years are running iOS 13, the latest version of the operating system. On iPad, the number rises to 79% with iPadOS 13. That means it’s important for developers to update their apps with the latest technologies available....

Apple Pay is expanding to three new countries. Starting today, users in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Azerbaijan can make payments through Apple’s payment platform. In Costa Rica, at least Banco Promerica, BAC Credomatic, and BCR are supporting credit cards through Apple Pay. All these bank apps have been updated over the past few days to bring support to the Apple Wallet. In Colombia, at least Bancolombia is already supporting Apple’s own payment system, as spotted by Twitter user David Mendes, then later confirmed by Apple through its own webpage....

We’re getting closer to iOS 11 being ready to ship, and Apple has just released the fifth developer beta preview. iOS 11 brings new features like drag-and-drop and a redesigned multitasking interface for iPad, a new customizable Control Center, and much more. iOS 11 beta 5 is currently only available to registered developers for now. Apple typically holds new public beta versions for a few days for major updates. Apple’s previous iOS 11 beta introduced refinements to Notification Center, changes to multitasking on iPad, new TV Provider placeholder listings, and other minor tweaks....

Two weeks after the release of iOS 15.3, Apple is now rolling out iOS 15.3.1 and iPadOS 15.3.1 to iPhone and iPad users. Apple says this update includes security fixes as well as a fix for a bug impacting Braille displays. Head below for the details. iOS 15.3.1 now available You can update your iPhone to iOS 15.3.1 by heading to the Settings app, choosing General, then choosing Software Update. The build number for today’s update is 19D52....

Update: Logic Pro X is now available in the Mac App Store for $199 and the new Logic Remote companion iPad app is available for free. MainStage 3 is also now live on the App Store. Something that we’ve been expecting for quite sometime is happening today as Apple follows in the footsteps of “Final Cut Pro X” with the release of a brand new version of Logic dubbed “Logic Pro X“....

Apple today has released new Smart Battery Cases for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. They are available to order now from Apple’s online store for $129. The Smart Battery Cases are available in three colors, including black, white, and pink sand. They are priced at $129 for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The first orders are slated to arrive by Monday, November 25....

The Apple Research app has received an update today that brings two notable changes with one of them being focused on taking into account how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting daily life for those in the Apple Heart and Movement Study. Apple launched its Research app back in November last year for those in the US. Three studies were made available to participate in to advance important health research: Apple Hearing Study, Apple Heart and Movement Study, and the Apple Women’s Health Study....

Apple announced two new iPads this morning, finally updating the iPad mini and bridging the gap between its entry-level and high-end models with a new iPad Air. For the first time, both new product lines gain Apple Pencil support, while also being the first new models since the sixth-generation 2018 iPad to feature Logitech Crayon support. The Logitech Crayon is an alternative to the Apple Pencil, which uses some of the same technology as Apple’s stylus and comes with tilt support, yet lacks pressure-sensitivity....

Just a day after a prominent legal expert described the proposed anti-encryption Burr-Feinstein bill as unconstitutional, unenforceable and harmful, Apple has called the proposal ‘well-intentioned but ultimately unworkable.’ The description is in an open letter from the Reform Government Surveillance coalition, of which Apple is a key member, alongside companies such as Google, Dropbox, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter. The letter, addressed to the two Senators behind the proposed bill, explains why it would be harmful to the interests of both the U....

A developer who worked at Apple for seven years has accused the Cupertino company of violating its own App Store guidelines. Dave DeLong says that the Apple News+ sign-up screen is in clear violation of three requirements, with The Verge pointing to another major no-no … Dave DeLong tweeted his complaint. The Verge added that Apple has particularly stringent guidelines for making it clear to users how much they will pay if they take out a free trial of a subscription and then don’t cancel....

Apple has announced today that it is now rolling out its all-new Apple Maps design across Canada. The company says that Apple Maps in Canada now features improved road coverage and pedestrian data, detailed land cover, and new ways to explore with Look Around, Guides, and more. Apple says that users in Canada will notice the new Apple Maps “beginning today,” bringing faster and more accurate navigation and a host of other improvements....

Apple tends to patent every one of its inventions that could possibly be used in a future product, so it can be difficult to read the tea leaves on which ones will eventually translate to product features. A new patent from Apple highlighted by PatentlyApple today, though, describes a technology that would be a very welcome remedy to battery life issues. The patent covers applying solar cells to a touch display surface like a trackpad or iPhone to store power for the device:...

Bloomberg reports that multiple industry analysts are expecting Apple to cross the 600,000 sales mark for the iPad 2 during this launch weekend. This compares to the 300,000 WiFi-only original iPads sold on launch day on April 3, 2010. Brian Marshall, an analyst at Gleacher & Co expects Apple’s second generation iPad to “outpace” the original model. Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies Inc. and Rodman & Renshaw LLC and Piper Jaffray & Co....

Whilst there may not be as many new features this year in the flagship Apple operating systems as some years past, there is no mistaking that iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 are very much under active development and distribution amongst internal Apple employees is growing. Our website analytics have recorded a noticeable uptick in Safari browser visits from iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 machines, particularly with bigger spikes just this week....

After about a month of beta testing, Apple is finally releasing watchOS 8.1 to all developers. Different from iOS 15.1 and other operating systems, watchOS 8.1 is all about minor updates. Since Apple focused a lot on the SharePlay feature for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac users, watchOS 8.1 feels a bit left behind as it’s in fact a pretty minor update, even though, it brings: COVID-19 vaccination card support that allows you to present verifiable vaccination information form Apple Wallet; Fitness+ supports SharePlay to allow subscribers to invite up to 32 people to workout together through a FaceTime call; Always On may not display the time accurately for some users when their wrist is down....