Apple will release the first developer beta of iOS 13.4 today. This update comes after the public release of iOS 13.3.1 last week, which included new privacy settings, Screen Time updates, and more. Update: Apple has released the first developer betas of macOS Catalina 10.15.4, iOS 13.4. iPadOS 13.4, watchOS 6.2, and tvOS 13.4. Read our full roundup of all of the new features in iOS 13.4 here. We don’t yet know what to expect in iOS 13....

As we previously reported to expect in March, Apple has released its iOS 7.1 software update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. The software update delivers a number of user interface tweaks and much needed bug improvements and dramatically faster animations and transitions. Changes include a dedicated list and tray view button in Calendar, power toggle and phone animation and shape changes throughout the system, and animation speed improvements. The update also includes additional features including an indicator in Camera used when auto flash will activate the light as well as a new auto HDR mode and an indicator when HDR will be activated....

Apple today is releasing the third public beta of iOS 13.1 to testers. This comes after the release of the third developer beta yesterday afternoon. Apple has also confirmed the official release date for both iOS 13 and iOS 13.1. Apple confirmed yesterday that iOS 13.1 will be released to all users on September 30th, following the release of iOS 13 on September 19th. The focus of iOS 13.1 is adding back features that were removed from iOS 13 beta testing, such as Shortcuts Automations and Share ETA in Maps....

Apple seems to be struggling with its hardware lately as the company has today began rolling out a replacement program for the iPhone 8. The company says devices sold between September 2017 through March 2018 in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, and the U.S are affected. Just like most of Apple’s other repair programs, you’ll need your serial number handy as you’ll have to punch that into the program’s website....

Tim Cook last month told the Chinese government that Apple would be building its first research and development center in China by the end of the year, and local media now appears to have some specifics. The center will reportedly be located in Beijing’s Zhongguancun Science Park and employ 500 staff. The Digitimes report – citing local media – says that the role of the center is expected to go beyond research …...

We know the iPhone is sold at AT & T and Apple retail stores in the US and at O2, Apple and Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK. Similar deals are also revealing themselves across Europe now, with the latest information revealing a range of German retailers will be offering the device when it goes on sale there on 11 July. Die Welt reports Metro AG’s Media Markt and Saturn shows will join Debitel in offering the iPhone 3G to German high street shoppers....

Yesterday we reported on the news that Apple recently started performing repairs on iPhones with third-party batteries. Now we’ve gotten a look at the official repair guide that details how Apple will handle repairs with non-original batteries. But in the case that Apple determines the third-party battery hasn’t caused the issue a customer is looking to have resolved, the non-Apple part shouldn’t change the service and warranty eligibility. Notably, non-Apple parts are defined as third-party batteries as well as counterfeit batteries....

Last year, Apple launched an “Apple Music for Artists” platform that displayed things like analytical data, milestones, and more. That dashboard, however, was only available via the web and to a small group of artists. All of that changes today, with Apple launching a new Apple Music for Artists app for iOS and more. As detailed by TechCrunch, Apple Music for Artists is now out of beta, allowing all artists to see data on how many times songs have been played, listeners reach, and more....

Apple plans to launch the iBookstore in Brazil ahead of its media event tomorrow, according to a new report by BlogDoiPhone (translated). The store is not currently live (update below), but screenshots of its existence are above and below. BlogDoiPhone noted a few books have begun to appear in Brazilian Portuguese when doing a search. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, for instance, now has a live link....

Nearly a year ago, it was reported that Apple was planning a new flagship retail location in Paris on Champs-Élysées. Now, French news site Mac4Ever has uncovered Apple’s building permit for the location, further confirming the company’s plans to open the store… The permit, dated December 20th, 2016, doesn’t offer additional details for the Champs-Élysées location, but it does confirm that Apple is moving forward with its plans. Last year, it was reported that Apple had secured a lease for a 20,341-square-feet seven story building at 114 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, using the lower levels as retail and space and the upper levels for office space....

You can now play Apple Music on Xbox consoles, thanks to the addition of a new app. Spotify already had an app on the gaming platform. Assuming it works in the same way as Spotify, you’ll be able to play Apple Music tracks in the background while playing a game, using a slider to set your preferred balance of game audio and music … The launch of Apple’s streaming music service on Xbox was spotted by Tom Warren, who shows a brief video clip (below)....

Apple is steadily focused on enhancing and innovating the camera system on its hardware, the iPhone in particular, and the tea leaves unsurprisingly suggest we should expect further progress in iPhotography. The U.S. Patent and Trademark office recently granted Apple a patent entitled ‘producing stereoscopic image,’ as noted by AppleInsider, which describes a process in which two similar images are intelligently combined to create an artificial sense of depth within the photo....

Apple is officially reinstating its mask requirement at most of its retail stores in the United States. According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple has sent a memo to retail employees informing them that masks will be required for shoppers and employees beginning tomorrow, July 29, regardless of vaccination status. Apple had already started requiring masks for employees at certain stores, but today’s announcement extends that policy to more locations and makes masks mandatory for shoppers as well....

Astro HQ has made a name for itself with its innovative drawing apps on iOS. Just this month, the company showcased a new feature for its AstroPad Studio app that essentially turned the front-face camera into a newfound button for iPad users. The company today announced, however, that Apple has rejected that idea… The feature was actually pretty neat. You simply tapped the lens of the front camera on the iPad to activate various menus and interfaces on screen....

Apple has just released Safari 7.1 to all users of OS X Mavericks following several beta releases in recent weeks. The update adds DuckDuckGo as a default search engine option, which was also just added to Apple’s mobile version of Safari alongside iOS 8. The update also includes a security improvement for Yahoo search engine users: Apple says Yahoo searches from the search field are now encrypted. In addition, Apple notes the release improves Reader and AutoFill compatibility with websites....

Apple has been working to expand its Apple TV+ subscription streaming service with more exclusive movies and TV shows. According to a new report from Variety, the company is now negotiating with Skydance Animation studios the rights to the animated films “Luck” and “Spellbound,” which were produced by John Lasseter. Lasseter became one of the most famous film producers due to his work as chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, where he was responsible for directing animations such as Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Cars — and he even worked directly with Steve Jobs in the early years of Pixar....

A new United States Patent & Trademark Office patent application from Apple entitled “Image Capture Device Having Tilt and/or Perspective Correction” has surfaced this morning, detailing how Apple is actively seeking to improve image taking and camera capabilities on mobile devices. According to Apple, future iPhones could automatically compensate for tilt or perspective distortion during image capture or later, by determining a device orientation relative to the object. The correction could occur on the fly – using dynamic crop lines or a virtual level (a bit akin to the grid lines in the iOS 5 Camera app) – prior to storing the image in the memory and even afterwards, in which case the orientation and distance data would be embedded in the image itself, using custom tags withing the EXIF file....

Although carriers have created workarounds in the past, Apple has been slow to support carrier billing for iTunes and App Store purchases so far. That appears to be changing, in Germany at least, as TechCrunch reports Telefonica-owned carrier O2 is officially supported as a payment option within iTunes. O2 customers are said to be able to provide a phone number rather than a credit card to allow billing to be handled through O2 rather than directly with a credit or debit card or other options....

Apple is having a busy time in court at the moment. Not only is it defending the iPod DRM class action, but is this morning beginning its appeal of the verdict of last year’s ebook trial. The court ruled that Apple was guilty of anti-competitive practices in two ways. First, the company asked publishers to switch from wholesale pricing – where publishers sold in bulk to retailers, who set their own prices – to an agency model, where publishers set retail prices and retailers took a commission....

Apple has advised store staff that those working overnight or morning shifts on Friday will be able to reserve an iPhone 6, but not a 6 Plus, if a tweeted photo is genuine (and we have evidence it is). This would lend further weight to longstanding rumors and overwhelming evidence that the 5.5-inch model would be in short supply … A purported photo of a document issued to Apple Store staff was tweeted by an anon store employee this morning....