One of the features introduced to Apple Maps with iOS 14 is cycling directions to help cyclists find the best routes with bike lanes. Now the company has expanded the cycling directions in its Maps app to users located in Chicago, Detroit, and other Midwestern US cities. As noted by Justin O’Beirne, the update began rolling out silently to users on April 15. Apple Maps now shows cycling directions in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Charleston....

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. Coherent Navigation CEO Paul Lego and cofounders William Bencze and Brett Ledvina all recently updated their LinkedIn profiles to show that they have taken a role at Apple, MacRumors noticed....

Apple on Tuesday stopped signing iOS 15.1, which means that users who updated their devices to iOS 15.1.1 or iOS 15.2 beta can no longer downgrade to iOS 15.1. This comes a month after the company stopped signing the iOS 15.0.2 firmware. iOS 15.1 was released to all users in late October with some new features, including the COVID-19 vaccination certificate in the Wallet app, SharePlay on FaceTime, ProRes for iPhone 13 Pro users, and more....

Apple has officially started rolling out its new Apple One subscription services bundle to users. The bundle offers discounted rates when you subscribe to multiple Apple services, including Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple News+, and more. Apple One bundle details Currently, the rollout is in its early phases, and not everyone is seeing the new Apple One subscription option. Here’s how to check to see if it’s available to you:...

Apple-owned Shazam is rolling out a handful of new features centered around concerts. With the latest version of the Shazam app for iOS, users can “explore upcoming live music shows” thanks to integration with Bandsintown. Apple and Shazam also tout that this new feature will help increase exposure for artists. With Bandsintown integration, Shazam will now show you concert information and ticket information when you search for a song or Shazam a song....

The company in May began recruiting home workers to act as remote tech support operatives, offering numerous benefits (and pay) to tech-savvy users able to deliver their services across a 40-hour week. The dedicated page (which currently only seeks an operative in Kennesaw, GA), bids to interested potential recruits as follows: “What if you could enjoy all the comforts of home while working with the coolest new technology? What if you could tap into great employee benefits without even leaving your bedroom?...

While Apple reportedly dropped its plans to make a complete TV, its adoption of the Apple TV box as the gateway device for HomeKit may be behind a patent for a TV remote with Touch ID. As is often the case, the patent is expressed in extremely broad terms, referring to a “sensor configured to detect a biometric characteristic of a user” and mentioning everything from iris detection to voice sensing, but a fingerprint is included and appears to be what is shown in the main drawing....

Since launching in China two weeks ago and adding 3 million users in just two days, Apple Pay is continuing its expansion across the United States as well. The addition of Mainland China started with another dozen participating banks, and today another 27 banks have joined the 1,000+ partners in the US. These are the latest: 1st Community Federal Credit Union Abacus Federal Savings Bank Bank of England BankFirst Financial Services Bull’s Eye Credit Union Colfax Banking Company Columbia Bank Florida First Bank First Federal Bank of Louisiana First National Bank of Durango First Southern National Franklin First Federal Credit Union Green Country Federal Credit Union Gulf States Credit Union Guthrie County State Bank Henrico Federal Credit Union Lone Star National Bank Mill City Credit Union Modern Woodmen Bank Pasadena Federal Credit Union PNC Bank, Global Investment Servicing Raleigh County Federal Credit Union Sage Capital Bank St....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGtP6ZQ6Lt8 Apple has just posted a new video to its YouTube channel titled “Making a difference. One app at a time.” The nine minute video highlights ways that developer’s apps change people’s lives. Featured apps in the video include Skyscape Medical Resources, Galileo, Cherokee Language, and Proloquo2Go. Coming hot off the heels of Apple’s WWDC keynote on Monday, the video is a collection of stories from individuals who’s lives have been touched thanks to some of the remarkable apps developers have created for the iOS App Store....

[Update: Now available for iPhone 8 Plus users.] Several weeks after releasing iOS 12.3.1 to the public, Apple is set to release iOS 12.3.2 later today. The update will include bug fixes related to Portrait Mode on certain devices. Apple says that the update resolves a bug that caused the Camera app to take Portrait mode images without depth effect on the iPhone 8 Plus. Here’s Apple’s full explanation: iOS 12....

In the latest instance of Apple reversing controversial app rejection decisions, Panic says it received the green light to resubmit a version of its Transmit app with the ability to send files to other services including iCloud Drive once again. The news comes after Apple requested Panic remove the feature from the app to prevent it being pulled from the App Store. The situation is only the latest in which an app developer was required to remove a feature from an iOS 8 app already live on the App Store or risk it being removed entirely....

After first detailing the software update in developer documentation, Apple has now released the first beta version of watchOS 3.2 for developer testing on Apple Watch. watchOS 3.2 is the first version of the Apple Watch software that works with SiriKit, enabling developers to tap in to Siri in the same way as apps on iOS 10. Apple’s documentation also mentioned Theater Mode as a new notification toggle that disables raise-to-wake for alerts without having to change the mode in the Settings app....

Apple is now rolling out the official macOS 10.12.4 release through the Mac App Store. The latest version of macOS Sierra is the first to bring Night Shift to the Mac. macOS 10.12.4 beta included changes to Siri, Dictation, and Apple’s PDF API: Night Shift now available on the Mac. Dictation support for Shanghainese. Ask Siri about cricket scores, schedules and player rosters. Siri knows about statistics and data from the Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council....

Finisar has clarified that the $390M contribution from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund announced yesterday is not an investment in the company, but rather an agreed payment for anticipated future orders. The company makes vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), which are a key part of the Face ID system used in the iPhone X, as well as enabling Animoji. As with the $200M Corning deal earlier in the year, the $390M commitment isn’t an altruistic gesture on Apple’s part …...

Apple is facing another anticompetitive complaint, this time filed by Rakuten who owns the Kobo ebook brand. The Financial Times reports that Kobo is filing a formal complaint that it cannot fairly compete against Apple Books in the App Store while it is subjected to sharing 30% of revenue from purchases made in the Kobo app. Kobo is currently forced to sell all of its content through its website to avoid paying Apple 30% of revenues....

Today’s best deals include iPad Air at $50 off, plus you can save on Apple Watch sport loop bands, and a budget-friendly Westinghouse HDTV. Hit the jump for all that and more. Save up to $50 on Apple’s latest iPad Air With a redesigned casing, Apple’s latest iPad Air packs a 10.9-inch edge-to-edge screen equipped with True Tone support. Everything is powered by a new A14 Bionic processor, with Touch ID making a return in the power button alongside USB-C charging and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard....

Apple is launching its first podcast series connected to an original series on its Apple TV+ video streaming service. For All Mankind: The Official Podcast is hosted by actor Krys Marshall, who plays astronaut Danielle Poole on the show. The weekly podcast series will include interviews with more cast members, space experts, and former astronauts. The trailer episode is out today, and the first full episode will be released this Friday on Apple Podcasts and RSS when the first episode of the second season of For All Mankind premieres on Apple TV+:...

While some features are built on the base which was put down by iOS 7, there are some new features which iOS 8 brings. These add much needed productivity options, making your iPhone much better suited for becoming your personal assistant. Best iOS 8 updates Multitasking and and ease of access were the keywords for iOS 8, and Apple certainly delivered on this front. Different gestures and swipes make navigating iOS 8 a breeze, as you’ll see soon enough....

Following the release of iOS 12.1.2 yesterday and iOS 12.1.1 earlier this month, Apple today has stopped signing iOS 12.1. This means that downgrades to iOS 12.1 are no longer possible, though you can still downgrade from iOS 12.1.2 to iOS 12.1.1. Apple routinely stops signing older versions of iOS as part of its efforts to ensure users are on the most recent and most secure releases of the operating system....

Apple has officially unveiled its first redesign of the iMac in over a decade. The new iMac features an all-new design with minimal bezels, plus Apple Silicon on the inside. The new iMac features a 24-inch display with True Tone display technology. It is available in an array of new colors. Inside of the iMac is an M1 processor. The new iMac also features an upgraded FaceTime camera with a resolution of 1080p, doubling the resolution of the previous entry-level iMac....