Apple Pay is coming soon to South Korea, but unfortunately, users there will have to wait a bit longer than expected. This is because the local Financial Supervisory Service had to review the terms and conditions of Apple Pay before its official launch in the country, which would have made Apple put the launch in South Korea on hold. Apple Pay coming to South Korea later than expected According to Naver (via Twitter user Tommy Boi), the Financial Services Department of South Korea has revised the terms and conditions of Apple Pay....

Apple has announced that it is quadrupling its US iPhone recycling program by making it available through Best Buy stores throughout the country. The program will also be available through KPN stores in the Netherlands. Phones will be returned to Apple for recycling by its Daisy robots. The company is celebrating the development on its homepage, with the top section devoted to its trade-in program and environmental credentials … Apple announced its first-generation iPhone recycling machine, Liam, in March 2016....

Alongside macOS 10.12.6, Apple has released a minor update to iTunes for macOS today. iTunes 12.6.2 includes “minor app and performance improvements” according to release notes. The update is available through the Mac App Store now. Today Apple also released iOS 10.3.3 for iPhone and iPad, watchOS 3.2.3 for Apple Watch, and tvOS 10.2.2 for Apple TV for all users following several developer and public beta versions. Apple last updated iTunes to version 12....

The potential for AirTags and similar devices to be used to track and locate unsuspecting people raised privacy concerns when AirTags was first released. The small trackers rely on nearby Apple devices to anonymously crowdsource their location, making it possible for someone to place an AirTag in a car or bag and retain the ability to view its current location. AirTags will begin to beep every few minutes after they’ve been disconnected from the owner for an unspecified amount of time as a way to alert those nearby that the AirTag is present....

Apple has seemingly fixed a problem from over the weekend that caused the iTunes Podcast charts and the charts in the Podcasts app to display inaccurate rankings. Business Insider highlighted the issue today, explaining that numerous popular podcasts had been pushed down the charts by unheard of, low-reviewed podcasts. For instance, the ever-popular Serial podcast, which is releasing weekly episodes as part of Season 3, was pushed to the 26th spot on the iTunes Podcast charts, with the top spots overtaken by real estate, fitness, and business podcasts....

A woman in Iowa is crediting Apple’s “Find My” app with helping her track down her car after it was stolen. As reported by KCCI Des Moines, 19-year-old Victoria O’Connor had her car stolen on Monday night after she left it running outside of a QuickTrip. Because her phone was also in the car, she quickly turned to “Find My” to track it down. O’Connor had been “practically living in her car” because a fire destroyed her apartment building in September....

Apple’s decision to use an OLED screen on the iPhone 8 will significantly accelerate adoption by other smartphone manufacturers, says a Trendforce report. The WitsView division of the company suggest that adoption will hit 50% by 2020. The prediction highlights ‘the Apple effect’ when it comes to new technology … Apple generally isn’t the first to adopt new technology. It usually takes a watching brief, aiming to produce the best product later, rather than to be first to market....

As promised, the folks at Nokia launched their alternative to Apple Maps for iOS: a new cross-platform solution called “Nokia Here”. Based off HTML 5, Here is now available on the iTunes App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad this morning, offering users full map views, the ability to save maps for later viewing, coverage of 200 countries, search history, Facebook login integration, step-by-step voice-guided navigation for the car and walking, offline map viewing, and social features that allow users to share their location....

While Apple canceled its Apple Music festival back in 2017, it still hosts free shows from time to time. Today the service is promoting another free live concert in LA, this time featuring Tyler, The Creator. The application for free tickets is open now for those 16 years of age and older. Apple Music is putting on the free show next Wednesday, May 22nd (which will also be livestreamed on the platform) in LA at Territory of Promotion to celebrate Tyler, The Creator’s new album, Igor....

A new report from Bloomberg today offers additional information on Apple’s plans to adjust operations as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in many areas. The report explains that Apple will vary its approach around the world based on local conditions. In the United States, Apple has told its employees that it does not anticipate a full return to physical offices “before the end of the year.” In Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions, however, Apple says it does “anticipate full resumption will take place over the coming months based on local conditions” for “many” offices....

Apple will be offering two new workshops at Apple Stores in the new year, CNET reports, each designed to help customers bring out their artistic side. One is geared to creative photography techniques on the iPhone, while the other is about using iPads for sketching, drawing and painting. Both workshops are part of Apple’s Start Something New campaign, first launched a year ago by using retail stores as temporary art galleries …...

If you plan on attending Apple’s annual developers conference, the window for WWDC 2017 registration is now open. Apple is expected to unveil iOS 11 and macOS 10.13 at the upcoming conference. The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off on June 5 and runs through June 9. After being held in San Francisco for the past several years, Apple is bringing the conference back to San Jose this year at the McEnery Convention Center....

Apple has added a fifth partner to its list of iPhone distributors in India as it continues its sales push in the country. Optiemus Group will now begin distributing iPhones with a focus on expanding to “neighborhood cellphone stores” in India. Apple is said to be targeting 2 million iPhone sales in the country during its fiscal year 2015… News that Optiemus will begin distributing the iPhone in India comes from The Times of India, which cites three industry executives and says more partnerships are expected to follow....

Apple today has released the first developer beta of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. The updates are rolling out now through the Apple Developer website where you can find a new configuration profile. Once you install the developer profile, the new release of the iOS 15 will be 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....

Apple has officially released iOS 10.2.1 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. iOS 10.2.1 is likely a bug fix and performance improvement release. The initial beta was released on December 14 with a second beta issued before the holiday break. We’ll test the official version and highlight any changes discovered below. iOS 10.2.1 is latest software update after the previous iOS 10.2 update. Released on December 12, iOS 10.2 brought Unicode 9....

Apple has released the third developer beta of iOS 11.2 for iPhone and iPad. The latest version comes one week after the second beta became available for all iPhones and iPads after first coming to iPhone X. Apple has also released the third developer beta versions of watchOS 4.2 for Apple Watch, tvOS 11.2 for Apple TV and Apple TV 4K, and macOS 10.13.2 for Mac. iOS 11.2 will likely include AirPlay 2 and Apple Pay Cash support in addition to SiriKit for HomePod which was detailed at the end of October....

Apple has just announced watchOS 7 with new watch faces, workout types, and sleep tracking. While developers can install watchOS 7 beta today, Apple has confirmed that a public beta release of watchOS will be available for the first time next month. Previously, watchOS beta versions were only available to developers, but now other users will be able to test new versions of watchOS before they are released to everyone....

Earlier today, we reported that new firmware versions are gradually rolling out for Apple’s wireless headphone products. This new software enables Find My support for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, which Apple first teased back in June at WWDC. This means that the compatible AirPods models gain new functionality inside of the Find My app, including precise location, a new Nearby Finding UI, Lost Mode, and the ability to get notifications when your earbuds are left behind....

Citron Research took to Twitter today with a decisive message: “ROKU stock is uninvestable now”. Immediately after, the stock plunged nearly 10%. This comes after a tremendous 25% gain just 24 hours prior, when newly released strong Q4 streaming numbers boosted the stock drastically. The turn of events come amid Apple’s unprecedented partnerships with previously taboo television manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and LG. Now that Apple is expanding the capabilities and reach of the iTunes Store alongside previously exclusive features such as AirPlay 2 and Siri support, investors are seeing Roku at a dead-end financially — even citing Roku CEO Anthony Wood’s recent self-stock-selling-spree....

Apple is upgrading HomeKit this fall with new features like Secure Video and expanded automation, but it’s not all good news for Apple’s smart home framework. The Home app where users manage the smart home experience makes one design choice that is likely meant to make it more approachable. In practice, the change degrades the experience for a whole category of HomeKit products. Difficulty managing the Home app at a glance when more than a few accessories are added has been a common complaint about the app’s design from the start....