Apple has now acquired another startup, Spaces, which has a team specialized in virtual reality technologies (VR). The acquisition was announced today by a Protocol report citing its own sources. Spaces was created in 2016 by DreamWorks Animation veterans, and the startup has been developing VR products since then, including a Zoom add-on that allowed users to hold virtual reality video conferencing using animated avatars. The company discontinued all its services last week without further details....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ONucH0Jwfk Apple today, just a week after debuting a new set of videos showcasing Apple Watch apps, has revealed three new TV advertisements again showcasing the various apps of the Apple Watch. The first video, seen above, showcases the music applications that Apple Watch supports. Apps showcased include ones such as Shazam, Instagram, and Apple’s own Music app. The second video showcases the fitness apps that Apple Watch users can take advantage of....

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGrDMVk2isc] Apple has rolled out a new commercial for the iPod touch (which is on sale for Black Friday) , showing off the white model that was just introduced alongside the iPhone 4S. The advertisement is called “Share the fun” and also demonstrates some of the new iOS 5 features like native tweeting and iMessage. In addition, great iPod touch additions from last year’s iOS 4 release like Game Center (improved with iOS 5) and FaceTime are demonstrated....

In a short tech support document posted to the Apple site, the company said, “Apple will support Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate) with Boot Camp in Mac OS X Snow Leopard before the end of the year.” The company also confirmed, “This support will require a software update to Boot Camp.” Apple did not reveal a schedule for the Boot Camp update. Apple also warned of nine Mac models that just won’t be able to run Windows 7 in Boot Camp....

Sony Corporation has issued an official news release in regards to the status of their manufacturing companies in Japan after the Kumamoto earthquakes. Having confirmed the safety of their employees in the affected regions, Sony has listed out a few details of the manufacturing sites that have been impacted as result of the earthquake. Sony’s semiconductor factory in Kumamoto, which primarily manufactures image sensors for cameras, had seen its production halted after the earthquake and has yet to be started again....

That’s logical, as we already know the latest iPhone Software 2.0 pre-release build offers location-aware services that let you tag images with your location as you take images, if you like. And while the Skyhook system’s impressively effective, it’s no great leap to think GPS is on the road-map. Apple’s recruitment advertisment says: “As a member of a cross-functional design team at Apple, you will help to create the next generation of the world’s finest handheld devices....

Apple is one of four tech giants to come out in opposition to a proposed new law in Australia which would force companies to provide access to encrypted user data. The fear is that, if the law is allowed to pass, it could set a precedent which other countries are likely to follow – with the USA high up the list of likely candidates to effectively ban strong encryption …...

Variety reports today that ‘Captain America’ star Chris Evans has signed on to Apple’s upcoming limited series ‘Defending Jacob.’ Apple has placed a straight-to-series order for the drama, according to the report. Evans hasn’t held a regular TV role since 2000, when he appeared in the miniseries ‘Opposite Sex.’ He’s best known for his role playing ‘Captain America’ in multiple Marvel films. Apple’s series ‘Defending Jacob’ is said to be based on the 2012 best-selling novel of the same name by William Landay....

As we head into the weekend, all of today’s best deals are headlined the best price of the year on Apple Pencil 2 at $104. That’s alongside being able to save $199 on the M1 MacBook Pro and Razer’s Kishi iPhone game controller at $85. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Pair your new M1 iPad Pro with Apple Pencil 2 for $104 Verizon Wireless is currently offering the second-generation Apple Pencil for $104....

As Apple prepares for its official iOS 5 launch in the fall (likely in September), the company has unleashed their latest iOS beta as on over-the-air update. This over the air process will only work for those running iOS 5 beta 3. Apple warns that doing an OTA update will delete your photos and will require a physical re-sync: iOS 5 also includes all new notifications with Notification Center, iMessages, Newsstand, and more....

At WWDC earlier today, Apple revealed Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan with a handful of new features, including improvements to Safari, new Spotlight capabilities, side-by-side window functionality, performance improvements, and more. Apple released a developer beta of El Capitan today via its developer portal, while also noting that a public beta will come in July. We have learned this evening, however, that Apple has also seeded a beta version of El Capitan to retail employees for testing....

Following a short period of downtime, the Apple Store is back up again and now features an entirely new design. Apple has also restored the old dedicated “store” tab in the navigation bar. The new store webpage looks very similar to the Apple Store app on iPad and iPhone. You can check out the new storefront here. The new design starts with a simple carousel of product categories that you can choose from and offers quick links to shop with a specialist or find an Apple store nearby....

New Refreshed Apple TV App with iOS 12.3 The emphasis of the new design is on curation and includes support for premium channels. “With the free iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3 software update, customers around the world can now subscribe to Apple TV channels within the Apple TV app — paying for only the ones they want — and watch on demand directly in the app. In the US, Apple TV channels include popular services such as HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, EPIX, Tastemade and new services like MTV Hits, with more to be added over time,” Apple writes in today’s announcement....

Update: Now available to public beta testers as well. A couple of weeks after releasing the first beta of iOS 15.5, Apple is seeding the second version for developers. Alongside that, there’s also beta 2 of iPadOS 15.5, tvOS 15.5, and watchOS 8.6. Head below for the details. Today’s build of iOS 15.5 beta 2 is 19F5057e. Different from iOS 15.4, which brought some handful of features, this version seems to focus on Wallet updates....

Just a few days after releasing iOS 15 beta 2 to developers, Apple has now released an updated build that is still labeled as the second beta. The new release, however, features an updated build number and is rolling out now via an over-the-air update. The updated build of iOS 15 beta 2 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 few minutes to roll out to all registered developers....

In addition to seeding OS X 10.11.4 beta 5 to developers and public beta users, Apple today has also pushed beta 5 of watchOS 2.2, as well as tvOS 9.2 to developers. The builds come just a week after the fourth betas were released. watchOS 2.2 so far has added a totally revamped Apple Maps app and glance, and it’s required to use iOS 9.3 beta’s new multi-watch feature. The app includes a new screen of actions and Nearby search powered by Yelp....

Following the release of iOS 13.6, Apple today released watchOS 6.2.8 for Apple Watch users. The update adds support for the Car Key feature and it also enables ECG to three more countries. With Car Key, drivers can replace physical keys with their iPhone. As Apple demonstrated during the WWDC 2020 keynote, you can simply hold your iPhone close to the car’s door handle to unlock it using NFC technology. This feature also works with the Apple Watch Series 5 running watchOS 6....

Update: watchOS 8.5 beta 4 is also available to public beta testers as well. Apple is releasing watchOS 8.5 beta 4 to all developers. This version comes one week after the previous beta and a couple of weeks after the company made available watchOS 8.4.2 to all users. Today’s build is 19T5241a. Different from other operating systems, watchOS 8.5 doesn’t have any major changes. At least, with iOS 15.4 beta 4, Apple brought a new, non-binary Siri voice for American users, which also reflects on Apple Watch as well....

Apple is releasing the first public beta of iOS 12.2 later today, three days after releasing its first iOS 12.2 developer beta on Thursday. With its first developer beta, we found evidence of a new generation of AirPods, the Apple News subscription service, new iPads and iPod touch, and many other changes and improvements. It’s likely that tvOS 12.2 public beta 1 and macOS 10.14.4 public beta 1 will also become available; we will update the post if they are released....

Like it previously has, Apple reminded users in an email this morning that the iWork.com public beta will shut down July 31. In the email, as seen below, Apple encourages users to grab their documents by closing time. iWork.com launched in January 2009 as a service for users to collaborate on iWork documents, with the ability to view, download, and comment on uploaded documents. Now Apple is pushing users to use iCloud, which offers a similar feature to store and edit documents....