Apple has released iOS 14 beta 8 and iPadOS 14 beta 8 to developers today. The update comes just under one week after the release of the seventh beta to developers and public beta testers. Update: iOS 14 beta 8 is now available to public beta testers as well. iOS 14 beta 8 is available to developers via an over-the-air update in the Settings app. As usual, if the update does not immediately appear for download, keep checking as it sometimes takes a while to roll out to all registered developers....

Apple is rolling out the seventh watchOS 3.2 beta for developer testing on Apple Watch. watchOS 3.2 beta includes Theater Mode which disables raise-to-wake and mutes alerts. Apple is also introducing SiriKit to Apple Watch with watchOS 3.2 beta. SiriKit lets developers integrate their apps with Siri for select uses. Prior to watchOS 3.2 beta, SiriKit was limited to iOS apps. As for Theater Mode, this is how Apple describes the new feature:...

Apple today released their fifth preview of their upcoming Xcode 4 to developers. This fifth preview includes a solid amount of new features, enhancements and fixes but nothing major to note. Here’s a summarized list of the most notable features and enhancements: You can view the entire set of release notes after the break: Editors: The built-in editor modes, Standard, Assistant, and Version are designed to present the most critical information, in context, as you work....

Apple will release the first public betas of iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 today. This comes less than a week after the first developer betas of the updates were released. iOS 13.4 includes several new features, such as iCloud Drive folder sharing, new Memoji stickers, and more. Update: The first public betas of iOS 13.4, iPadOS 13.4, tvOS 13.4, and macOS Catalina 10.15.4 are now available. iCloud Drive folder sharing is one of the most notable changes in this update....

According to Digiday, Apple is looking to sell video ad inventory beginning in early 2023. This follows early talks with media agencies where Apple has discussed preliminary plans to sell video advertising space against its original content and live sports ventures. The move would bring Apple TV+ in line with the strategies of other streaming services. All major streaming services, except Apple, have announced or already offer ad-supported plans. Market leaders Netflix and Disney+ will launch ad-supported tiers in the next couple of months....

Apple Maps gained the Look Around street view feature last fall along with iOS 13 but it was launched in limited cities. Now the handy option has rolled out to Boston, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. You can check out the expanded Look Around feature in Apple Maps now by pulling up addresses, landmarks, and more and looking for the binoculars button in the top right corner or bottom left corner (via MacRumors)....

Apple Maps tightly integrates with Yelp to source information and reviews for restaurants and more and the latter has announced today that it is launching new options for business owners to share COVID vaccination policies. As reported by The Verge, the new vaccination policy options will show up for business owners when logging into their Yelp for Business accounts under the “Amenities & more” section. Two new options are included, “Proof of vaccination required” and “All staff fully vaccinated....

Forbes along with Just Capital are out with a new rankings report today, detailing America’s best corporations to work under. The key factors to high marks here are employee treatment (25% scoring weight) and customer treatment (18% scoring weight). However, a handful of other humane factors are at play here, such as “environment” “products”, “leadership”, and more. Microsoft took the top spot overall, with Google’s Alphabet coming in third. Apple, however, landed 16th overall and 300th in “workplace communities”....

Apple Music appears to be off to a strong start in terms of paying subscribers, but as the old adage has it, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. A decent chunk of those who have opted not to pay for Apple Music appear to have headed instead to Spotify. TechCrunch notes that Spotify’s iOS app has taken the top grossing spot in Apple’s U.S. App Store for the first time ever....

iHeartRadio is the latest high-profile publisher to join Apple News. The service announced today that its editorial content can now be found on Apple’s News app on iOS. The publication will also be featured in the Entertainment section of the Apple News app, but its editorial content isn’t just limited to music and celebrity gossip as iHeartRadio also covers sports and politics. iHeartRadio — primarily know for its radio streaming service — is widely available on Apple’s various platforms including Apple TV and CarPlay where it recently expanded its podcast support....

Although Apple has its own line of earphones and Beats accessories, the company used to offer third-party headphones in its stores — but this is about to change. A new Bloomberg report reveals that the company no longer sells rival earphones, headphones, or audio accessories, coincidentally ahead of the so-called AirPods Studio announcement. Consumers could find Bose, Sonos, and Logitech accessories in Apple Retail and Online stores, but these products have now been removed from Apple’s website and will soon not be available in their retail stores, either....

From 9to5Toys.com: The online Apple Store is having a clearance of the original iPad for three select WiFi and WiFi + 3G models, including the flagship 64GB WiFi + 3G iPad. Now available for up to $200-$230 less compared to their original list prices, these products come looking like new and with the same 1-year warranty that other Apple products receive. All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell....

Apple CFO Jeff Williams has unveiled the next generation of Apple Watch on stage at its big event today. The new model is called Apple Watch Series 2. Adding to the splash proof feature of the original model, the new Apple Watch is actually swim proof. Apple Watch Series 2 adds swim tracking to the Workouts app including pool swimming and open water swimming. The Apple Watch speaker is the only unsealed part of the casing and it intelligently ejects water after a workout....

When Apple released the first beta of watchOS 2.0 last month following WWDC, users were surprised to learn that there was no way to downgrade from the beta build to the more stable Watch OS 1.0.1. Users tried a variety of different methods, but were ultimately left with one option: send their Watch into Apple and allow them to do the restore. With today’s launch of watchOS 2.0 beta 3, Apple has officially confirmed that there is no way to downgrade to an earlier version of watchOS without sending your device into Apple....

Mockup based on current Apple Store native application Although Apple offers an Apple Store iOS application that provides full access in a simplified manner to iPhone and iPod touch users, Apple is looking to make the experience even simpler. Over the past months, we have observed Apple gradually shelving and re-touching a project to replace the native Apple Store application with a mobile web version of the Apple Online Store. Now it appears that Apple is working towards actually completing and launching the mobile version of the store....

Apple already detailed the specific iOS 6 features that would be available to certain iOS devices in June. For instance: Flyover and turn-by-turn would be limited to iPhone 4S and iPad 2 (and up), while FaceTime over cellular and Siri would be available only on iPhone 4S and iPad 3. Today, following the introduction of the iPhone 5, Apple’s product page for the new device linked to a comprehensive list of features that are not available in certain countries....

Following up on our report from April that Google planned to end YouTube support for older Apple TVs and iOS 6 and earlier devices due to API changes, Apple has officially removed the YouTube channel from pre-third-generation Apple TVs. YouTube’s main menu icon has disappeared, along with the Settings menu option to hide or show it along with other channels. Current-generation models continue to have YouTube access. Apple introduced the third-generation Apple TV in March 2012, noting that it was capable of operating at up to 1080p resolution, which was at that point the only major difference between the new model and its 720p predecessor....

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM8iK3QJfhg&feature=youtu.be] First Phil Schiller nominated Tim Cook for the charity-driven Ice Bucket Challenge challenge, then Cook passed the torch to Dr. Dre. Today Dre finally proved that he didn’t forget about the challenge and posted a video on YouTube in which he pours an entire trash can of ice water over his head. Of course, it’s likely he also donated to the ALSA, given that he released the video later than the 24 hours participants are usually afforded....

Arriving a week after the third macOS 12.4 beta for developers and public testers – including the first webcam fix for Apple’s Studio Display – Apple has seeded macOS 12.4 beta 4 today to developers. macOS 12.4 beta 4 is now available via OTA for developers already enrolled in the beta as well as being available soon from Apple’s Developer website. Today’s beta comes with build number 21F5071b. We didn’t see much new in the first macOS 12....

Apple has sent an email to users of its two-factor authentication system reminding them of an upcoming change to the feature that will take effect tomorrow. Originally the requirement for app-specific passwords was supposed to start on the first of the month, but Apple has informed users that it will begin tomorrow instead. The system to generate and use these passwords is already in place. App-specific passwords allow you to log into applications that don’t support two-factor logins, such as most email clients or other apps that may want to access your iCloud data....