Following the release of macOS Monterey 12.1 to all users on Monday, Apple today released the first beta of macOS Monterey 12.2 to developers, as well as a beta version of macOS Big Sur 11.6.3. It is unknown what exactly is new in macOS Monterey 12.2, as Apple is yet to provide release notes. The previous update of Apple’s desktop operating system, macOS 12.1, came with SharePlay, the Apple Music Voice Plan, Hide My Email, and other enhancements....

Apple is rolling out the sixth iOS 10.3 beta for developer testing on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The upcoming software update includes Find My AirPods support, CarPlay improvements, Apple’s new filesystem, and more. We’ll update and highlight any additional changes discovered below. iOS 10.3 is currently only available in beta for registered developers and public beta testers. The public beta version of each update usually follows a few days after the developer version if not the same day....

A day after Apple made the macOS Big Sur beta 9 available to developers alongside the iOS 14.2 beta 2, the fourth macOS Big Sur public beta has arrived. If you’re enrolled in the Big Sur public beta, you can check to see if the latest release is available on your Mac by heading to System Preferences > Software Update. As we’ve previously mentioned, we’re not seeing many user-facing changes in these late beta releases as we’re approaching the public launch of macOS Big Sur....

Apple has released its updated Safari Technology Preview 33 for macOS Sierra and High Sierra today. The preview browser is specifically designed for developers to get an upcoming look at the new web technologies that macOS and iOS will eventually receive. As with all of the Safari Technology Preview releases, today’s update focuses on changes that directly impact developers and the work they do. Preview 33 includes a long list of updates that address performance, bug fixes, JavaScript, WebRTC, Media Streams and Capture, media, CSS Grid, Web API, Rendering, and Web Inspector....

Apple today has added a ‘Remembering Robin Williams’ feature section in the iTunes Store following news of the actor’s passing yesterday afternoon. The section features a collection of movies, TV shows, and other performances with the incredibly talented actor including Mrs. Doubtfire, Flubber, Hook, and Dead Poet Society, which inspired Apple’s recent ‘Your Verse’ campaign featuring ordinary people using the iPad in interesting ways. Williams’ famous line from his role in Dead Poet Society can be heard in the initial ‘Your Verse’ ad from earlier this year....

The average iPhone user has already spent $80 on Apps, according to fresh research from AppsFire. The company, which provides a service for “sharing” iPhone apps with others, conducted a survey of 1,200 of its (mostly US-based) users to establish some key data on the habits of iPhone and iPod touch users. Key points include: – The average iPhone user has downloaded 65 apps for a cost of around $80 for paid apps....

Apple in 2020 was hit with an antitrust lawsuit filed by the developer of Cydia, a popular tool that acts as an App Store for jailbroken iPhones and iPads. Although Apple appealed the case, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has now denied Apple’s appeal to dismiss the lawsuit. As reported by Reuters, Apple’s attorneys had stated that Cydia developer Jay Freeman’s allegations were “time-barred” and “stale.” Even so, Judge Gonzalez Rogers decided to let Cydia go ahead with the lawsuit as she considered Freeman’s claims against Apple to be valid....

Apple’s Black Friday page went live yesterday on the Australian and New Zealand websites as time-zone differences always put them at the head of the queue, and exactly the same deals have now gone live in the USA and elsewhere. It was clear from the Australian dollar values what the U.S. deals were going to be, and our converted values have now been confirmed. After checking them out below, you’ll want to check our roundup of the Best Apple Black Friday Deals and up-to-the-second Black Friday deals at 9to5toys....

Apple’s MetLife Building renovation plans have been approved, ahead of a new billion-dollar campus at the Research Triangle Park in Cary, North Carolina. The main campus, some 10 miles down the road, is expected to cost around $1B, while the renovation to the nearby MetLife Building 3 has a more modest budget of around $19.3M … Background It was back in 2018 when Apple first announced plans for an additional major campus devoted to technical support functions....

Android may have the raw numbers, but iPhone users have always been the ones to make the most use of their phones – from web browsing through enterprise to paid apps. Mobile analytics company Flurry reports that one Android brand has finally caught up – but only in China. It’s no coincidence that the brand is Xiaomi. The company, and its CEO, has blatantly copied Apple’s marketing approach in every way from product launches right the way down to the Steve Jobs style clothing of the company’s founder....

According to documents published on the website of Access (formerly PalmSource), Apple has licensed patents from the portfolios of several former technology companies including some from Palm/PalmSource which were originally bought by HP. Access appears to own patents from Palm, Bell Communications Research and Geoworks and has licensed them to Apple for 1B Yen. Microsoft previously took out a license on these same ‘foundational patents’. It was revealed that Steve Jobs had a heated email exchange with then Palm CEO Ed Colligan where he said Palm’s patents were essentially worthless....

According to Bloomberg, Apple lost a lawsuit against VirnetX in a Texas courtroom late this evening and ordered to pay $368.2 million in damages. VirnetX sued Apple for infringing on its collection of network patents that Apple has been accused of incorporating into products like FaceTime. VirnetX was originally asking for upward of $900 million, but the jury decided on lesser damages this evening. Additionally, the patent holding company has similar cases pending against Cisco and Avaya....

Apple today is expanding its enhanced Maps experience across Italy following some tests with specific regions of the Italian Peninsula earlier this year. Besides improved data, Apple Maps in Italy is also getting 3D buildings, better navigation, and even Look Around — which is Apple’s version of Street View built with 3D images. As reported by MacStories, the expansion of the enhanced version of Apple Maps is now available in Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, and Andorra....

Apple is believed to be making history with the theatrical release of its Apple TV+ original film CODA. In all UK and US cinemas, the movie will be shown with accessible-to-all ‘open’ subtitles — that is, burned into the video with no need for special equipment to see them. Typically, members of the deaf community who want to watch movies at theaters must attend screenings that support wearing special glasses in order to see the subtitle tracks over the top of the video....

Wells Fargo promised cardless ATM withdrawals using Apple Pay back in March, and has today announced that the facility is available at more than 5,000 machines across the USA. Weirdly, however, you’ll use your ATM PIN rather than Touch ID to authenticate … The bank began offering a clunky first step in cardless ATM usage back in March, and amazingly says that this notched up almost 3M transactions. Wells Fargo says that its remaining 8,000 ATMs will be upgraded with contactless technology by sometime in 2019....

We’ll be following along with Apple’s earnings call in a few minutes here. Also expect some separate posts for the “Best Quarter Ever” Press Release and any other news that comes our way. Apple’s summary of the earnings data: Update: Apple announces Q4 earnings Live blog archived below: -AAPL down to 397, it’s jumping around. -Call has started. -Opening remarks from Senior Director of Investor Relations. -Tim Cook making introductory remarks: discussing Steve Jobs....

– Toggle for Handoff on iOS 8 beta 3 – Setup toggles for App Analytics and upgrading from Documents in the Cloud to iCloud Drive. – A few new wallpapers on iPad and iPhone – UI tweaks in Weather – Shared Photo Streams are now called Shared Albums – QuickType is now an option in Settings – Option to automatically keep photos and videos sent/recieved in Messages – Tweaked Clear button in Notification Center...

Apple today has quietly released a new collection of colors for its iPhone XS silicone cases and Apple Watch sport bands. The new colors include Hibiscus, Mellow Yellow, and Pacific Green. Further, Apple has also started selling the new Nike Sport Loop colors that originally launched through Nike earlier this month. For the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, Apple has introduced three new silicone case colors. The new colors, Hibiscus, Mellow Yellow, and Pacific Green, cost the same as other Apple cases at $39 for both iPhone XS models....

Following Apple CEO Tim Cook’s announcement last month that the company would soon begin providing diversity data, today the company is releasing its first report. While disclosing numbers on the gender and ethnicity of its employees, CEO Tim Cook has also published a letter alongside the report on the company’s website (full version below). In the letter, Cook highlights some of the progress the company has made in recent years, but also notes that he’s “not satisfied with the numbers” and that Apple plans to do more to improve them....

[Update: Bloomberg adds additional details including iOS & macOS cross platform apps still on track, new parental features are coming, tvOS and watchOS won’t be affected, and more.] Axios is reporting that Craig Federighi instructed the software division to put aside some major iOS projects in order to focus on performance and reliability issues for iOS 12. The publication says a refresh of the Home screen and other features have been shelved to dedicate more resources to bug fixing, smaller tweaks and platform finesse....