Apple just seeded its second beta release of OS X 10.11.3 to both public beta testers and developers as it prepares for the upcoming public release. Apple released the first beta of 10.11.3 on the Mac App Store mid-December following the public release of OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 earlier that month. The company didn’t include any release notes with the first two pre-release versions of 10.11.3, which means the update should focus on performance improvements and bug fixes instead of major new features or enhancements....

Apple has acquired a small Italian startup called Stamplay, according to a new report from local newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Stamplay was founded in 2012 with a specialization in cloud development and API-based backend development — experts in fields that could benefit Apple’s services. Apple has not yet commented on the report of this acquisition. Apple is said to have paid around five million euros for Stamplay, which equates to roughly $5....

While Apple made a $1 billion investment in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing earlier this year, it apparently also held talks with Lyft, another popular car request service, regarding an acquisition. According to a report from the New York Times, Lyft has recently held discussions with handful of companies to discuss a possible acquisition, with Apple being one of them. The biggest factor working against Lyft during the acquisition talks was apparently its asking price....

As Apple continues to ramp up its focus on augmented reality, the company has recently hired a specialist from NASA for its efforts. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple has hired Jeff Norris, a specialist in new technology at NASA… The report cites “people familiar with the matter” and says that Norris joined Apple earlier this year, working as senior manager on the company’s augmented reality team. At NASA, Norris founded the Mission Operations Innovation Office of its Jet Propulsion Lab....

Apple is reported to be in talks with British Telecom (BT) to help kick-start its pay-TV plans in the UK. The Telegraph reports that the deal is designed to be a win-win for both companies. BT would get extra customers for its own pay-TV channel, while Apple would not only benefit from extra sales of its Apple TV box, but would also have a larger audience once it’s ready to move ahead with its own subscription television service....

A summary of the way that various tech giants last year sought to address the needs of people with disabilities shows that Apple’s accessibility record is better than that of most companies – but did make things worse in one respect. Engadget says that Apple continues to lead the way in inclusive design. The American Council of the Blind did, however, draw attention to one failure on Apple’s part. In addition to updating its screen reader, VoiceOver, to enable better descriptions of images for the visually impaired, Apple also launched several new products....

Earlier this month, Apple made good on its promise and made its Swift programming language open source. Following the announcement, Apple’s senior vice president of software Craig Federighi did a pair of interviews to discuss the motivation behind open sourcing the platform and what the future holds. Now, Federighi has joined John Gruber on his podcast The Talk Show to further discuss Swift Federighi opened the interview by discussing what kind of things Apple has noticed during the first week of Swift being open source....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgQdeni5M-Q&feature=em-uploademail Apple has uploaded its latest advertisement as part of its new “if it’s not an iPhone, it’s not an iPhone” marketing series. Today’s new TV ad focuses on the iPhone’s camera, photo taking capabilities, and video recording features. As it has done in past campaigns, Apple appears to be promoting pictures and videos taken by actual iPhone customers. Apple’s previous iPhone ads focused on customer satisfaction, hardware/software integration, and the App Store....

Apple is reportedly mulling a potential expansion in Pittsburgh, a new report suggests. Citing real estate sources, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Apple is in negotiations to take over 90,000-square-feet of office space in the Pittsburgh Athletic Association building. Apple’s current office in Pittsburgh is headquartered at the 3 Crossings development in the “Strip District.” Today’s report says it’s unclear if the new office space would coexist with that location or if Apple would completely move....

In addition to ongoing coverage via Apple News, Apple is now promoting a video on Apple Music and iTunes that features a “message from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.” The 1-minute long video features a brief explainer of social distancing and how it can help slow the spread of COVID-19. Featured in the video are: Dr. Anthony Fauci – NIAID Director Dr. Deborah Birx – Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Jerome Adams – US Surgeon General In the video, Dr....

Apple has officially opened enrollment for the new App Store Small Business Program. This program allows developers to qualify for a commission rate of 15% if they earn up to $1 million. Apple says that existing developers who earn up to $1 million in a calendar year are eligible for this new App Store Small Business Program. The $1 million number is based on a post-commission basis. This means developers are eligible for the program until their proceeds, after Apple takes its cut, exceed $1 million....

When we reported that JCPenney had stopped supporting Apple Pay, some European readers were confused about the state of Apple Pay in the US. Why did the chain need to specifically support Apple Pay when everywhere in Europe accepts it because it’s effectively just another contactless card? A reader suggested I write an explainer, which I added to my to-do list only to find that CNBC did it for me in video form …...

With fall starting, Apple Pay is promoting a few exclusive deals to its customers to help prepare for this colder season. When you use Apple’s payment solution, you can get special online offers on dresses, tops, jeans, accessories, and more. Apple is promoting four stores; customers need to use Apple Pay and use the promo code to get these deals: L’AGENCE: 20% off full-priced styles with promo code APPLEPAY. Offer ends October 6....

Ahead of the expected first Apple Watch arrivals on April 24th, Apple has began charging customer credit and debit cards. Various users on social media that pre-ordered the Apple Watch are reporting that they have been charged by Apple for their order. According to reader reports, both Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport customers have been charged. While some users report that their shipment status has yet to change, our own Dom Esposito’s order status for his 38mm Apple Watch Sport has changed from from “processing” to “preparing for shipment....

Apple and its retail chief Angela Ahrendts today previewed the company’s brand new San Francisco retail store at Union Square ahead of an official grand opening this weekend. The images above and below were shared online today by @harrymcracken, @panzer and others attending the preview event for press. The new store features a number of new design elements, including changes to the layout for its Genius Bar that will be known as “Genius Grove” at the new store, and a number of new specialized areas throughout....

iOS 16.1 is currently available in beta testing and includes support for the Live Activities API, which allows developers to add real-time notifications to the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. As iOS 16.1 nears a public release sometime this fall, Apple has now published its full Human Interface Guidelines that outline best practices for developers implementing Live Activities in their applications. Live Activities were announced at WWDC as a way for developers to add real-time, up-to-date information to the iPhone Lock Screen....

Apple is facing increased pressure from investors to do more to curb technology addiction and to give parents more control over how their kids use Apple products. Seemingly in response to those concerns, Apple today has launched a new “Families” page on its website, outlining what parents can do to protect their kids’ use of technology… First noted by Axios, this new webpage doesn’t offer information about what new parental control features Apple might have planned for this year, but rather focuses on what its software is currently capable of....

Apple has refused compensation to an Australian woman whose face was burned when her Beats headphones exploded on board a plane. Apple said that third-party AAA batteries, bought separately by the woman, were the cause … Adelaide Now reports that the incident happened in February, with Apple subsequently investigating. A number of Beats wireless headphone models use AAA batteries. The brand of the batteries involved in this case is not known....

During Apple’s State of the Union and 15th annual Apple Design Awards, Apple explained that the App Store Review Guidelines would be receiving new updates this year. Currently on Apple’s own App Store Review Guidelines page there are two different guidelines listed, pre- and post- June 13,2016. Apple has decided to take these changes one step further into a partnership with Madefire. At the end of the Apple Design Award ceremony this year, Apple announced a collaboration with Madefire to make reading the newly updated guidelines easier....

Apple has released the fourth iOS 12 public beta for iPhone and iPad. The new version follows iOS 12 developer beta 5 which was released yesterday. The new version includes minimal changes including new tones within FaceTime, updates to the Stocks widget, and more. tvOS 12 public beta 4 and macOS Mojave public beta 4 are also available today. Apple’s public beta program allows users who are not registered developers to test pre-release versions of iOS, tvOS, and macOS with new features for free (and a few bugs)....