Once you connect your Apple Music account to Alexa, you can set the music service as your default music library source and default music station source. This lets you request music from Apple Music without telling Alexa which service to use each time. Apple Music on Alexa has access to your personal music library including playlists that you create or add to your library from Apple Music, although there are some features that Apple Music on Echo lacks that HomePod supports....

After introducing better widgets, Apple Music for Android is getting an in-app Sleep Timer that offers extensive options. About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect....

About three months after the Mac Studio launched, Apple has now started selling the model on its refurbished store. Priced at $1799, Apple is offering a $200 discount compared to buying the same model as a brand new unit. The available refurbished Mac Studio model is the base model $1999 configuration, equipped with an M1 Max chip with 512 GB SSD, 32 GB RAM and a 24-core GPU. The $1799 price works out to an approximately 10% reduction....

Apple has opened up a new portal in the iTunes Store to take donations for the Japan earthquake and tsunami relief fund. Users who wish to donate can donate in $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, and $200 increments. 100% of the money donated through iTunes goes to Red Cross efforts in Japan. Click here to go the donate page. Update: Apple has posted a message on Apple Japan. “To those who have been affected by the earthquake and tsunami, we send sympathies from our heart....

Apple Watch Series 2 was the first model to be entirely waterproof, and Apple introduced an important feature to keep the internal components protected. As you may know, Apple Watch has a water-ejection system in which the speaker expels water — and this might come to iPhone, according to a new patent registered by Apple. The Apple Watch water-ejection system works by using the speaker to vibrate and emit specific sounds that push the water out, which is useful when you use your Apple Watch for swimming or during a shower....

After allegations that Apple was copying the classic Swiss Railway clock design for its new Clocks app in iOS 6, Apple was expected to meet with Swiss Federal Railways SBB to presumably find some sort of resolution. SBB made an official announcement on its website (via TheVerge) today, claiming it has reached an agreement with Apple: Swiss Federal Railways is not disclosing how much the agreement is for, but it said Apple has agreed to its licensing terms for use of the Hans Hilfiker designed railway station clock design....

Apple has just published its third update to the revamped Mac version of iMovie launched last year. The update, version 10.0.3, makes changes to the default font in the new titles first added to last year’s release. It also includes the ability to sort events by date to quickly find clips by when they were recorded. Other improvements include the ability to rotate and crop clips within events rather than projects, an easier method of accessing transition duration settings, faster access to clip speed controls, improvements to how speed changes are handled, and various bugs that could cause the app to crash or not do what was expected....

Apple is out with the second public beta version of the upcoming OS X 10.11.4 software update for Mac. The release adds a secure, password-protected Notes, which sync with iOS 9.3, as well as support for viewing and sharing Live Photos over iMessage with the Messages app. Other focus areas include the iBooks and Photos apps, according to Apple. Today’s release follows the developer version of the same software update earlier this week....

Apple this morning has released OS X 10.10 Yosemite Developer Preview 5. The new update brings various performance improvements and bug fixes. The previous Developer Preview brought some minor user-interface enhancements and significant speed improvements. Apple also released iOS 8 beta 5. We’ll be updating this post live with new discoveries as they are made. You can send us what you find to tips@9to5mac.com. You can find what’s new in this developer preview, below:...

Apple is releasing iOS 14.8 to the public today for iPhone users, just days before we expect iOS 15 to also be released to the public. Analytics and Xcode data had previously suggested that iOS 14.8 was in development, and sure enough, it is rolling out now alongside iPadOS 14.8. Update: More details on the security fixes here. The build number for today’s release of iOS 14.8 is 18H17. You can update your iPhone by going to the Settings app, choosing General, then choosing Software Update....

Apple has provided the following statement to Business Insider when asked about CVS and Rite Aid both blocking Apple Pay at their checkout terminals: Earlier today CVS confirmed in a statement to CNBC that it will not be accepting Apple Pay after users previously reported being able to the chain’s NFC terminals: “At this time, CVS/pharmacy cannot accept Apple Pay or other mobile payments that use NFC technology. We are in the process of evaluating mobile payment options for our customers....

Bloomberg has echoed concerns about Apple’s dependence on China for what the company terms FATP: final assembly, test, and pack. Mark Gurman observes that it was Tim Cook who was responsible for the decision to use China as an assembly hub, back in the days when he was the company’s chief operations officer … Background We’ve been warning about Apple’s over-dependence on China for many years now. Back in 2017, we wrote:...

Apple creates amazing devices, sometimes you can’t help yourself and feel compelled to simply touch them, to feel their delicate electromagnetic chemistry shimmer under the contact with your skin. Almost like they’re alive. No, this isn’t now, silly, but it sure will be a hallmark of Apple’s products of the future, at least according to the latest patent (published yesterday) from the Cupertino-based company. This details devices festooned with sundry sensors, including reactive and touch sensors, acoustic sensors and more…....

Ars Technica is reporting that a judge has denied Apple’s request to intervene in Lodsys’ current patent disputes against app developers. Apple originally filed a motion to step in to the case in June, 2011. However, the judge has disregarded Apple’s statements saying that it is out of the scope of the active trial in an order dated September 24th. Apple continues to oppose the alleged patent infringements, saying that their license covers third-party developers to use their technology....

Apple this week has expanded its Apple Maps Connect service to five additional regions in Europe: Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and The Netherlands. The additions were noted in an email to users of the platform and on the Apple Maps Connect website. For those unfamiliar, Apple Maps Connect allows business owners to both manage existing Apple Maps listings and add additional listings to the platform. This service works closely with the Apple Indoor Mapping feature, which aims for businesses to help Apple build up a portfolio of indoor mapping data....

The new way to enter your hotel room requires an iPhone running iOS 15 or an Apple Watch running WatchOS 8. Users with compatible devices can simply select the key on their device and hold it near the built-in sensor on their room door to gain entry – as if they held a traditional keycard. Before they even arrive at the hotel, users can add keys at supported locations upon making a reservation....

Buried in today’s Q3 2017 Apple earnings call was Luca Maestri’s announcement that Apple Pay is coming to a handful of new countries by the end of the year. The Apple CFO announced that Apple Pay will come to the UAE, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden by the end of this year… Maestri didn’t offer any specific launch information, simply saying Apple Pay is “scheduled to go live before the end of this calendar year” in those countries....

Remember MCX CurrentC, the QR-code based mobile payment system that attempted to take on Apple Pay? Launched two years ago, it immediately started creating waves when it required its retail members to switch off Apple Pay or be fined. If that weren’t bad enough, it was quickly hacked. Apple Pay fans made fun of the service in app reviews, and it wasn’t long before retailers started to break ranks and we saw some rapid back-pedalling on Apple Pay from one CEO before he was replaced by another....

Earlier today, we predicted that Apple had plans to bring the previously-released fourth-generation iPad back into production to replace the aging iPad 2. As expected, the fourth-gen iPad is now available once again on Apple’s website, this time with only a 16 GB capacity. Aside from offering the single capacity choice, there aren’t any changes to the device. This model replaces the iPad 2, which has been around since the days of the 30-pin connector....

Alongside the release of iOS 14 beta 5, Apple today has also released watchOS 7 beta 5 to developers. watchOS 7 includes new features such as sleep tracking, new watch face features, fitness improvements, and more. watchOS 7 beta 5 can be installed by developers through the companion Apple Watch app on iPhone or by heading to the Settings app on the Apple Watch itself. If you don’t yet see the new beta on your device, be sure to keep checking as it’s still rolling out to all developers....