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In line with our recent scoops, Apple has updated its MacBook Air lineup early this morning. The refresh features the slightly updated Intel’s Haswell processor and all models are now priced $100 less than the previous models. The design is exactly the same and we don’t expect any significant changes to the MacBook Air lineup until later this year. You won’t find much different here, but the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models have been bumped up to a 1....

Reuters reports that Apple is working on significantly increasing the number of artificial intelligence specialists it employs as it works to make Siri smarter, but that the company’s commitment to user privacy imposes constraints. Machine learning relies heavily on large-scale data-crunching to figure out what users are likely to want to know. But while Google analyses the data of Android users en-masse, Apple’s approach to privacy means that far less data is sent from the iPhone to its servers, making it more challenging to increase Siri’s intelligence … Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering, said of iOS 9 that it was “adding intelligence throughout the user experience in a way that enhances how you use your device but without compromising your privacy....

Apple is slightly increasing prices on several subscriptions, starting with Apple Music, the company’s music streaming service. The monthly price is increasing from $9.99 per month to $10.99/mo ($1 increase), and the family plan is going from $14.99/mo to $16.99/mo ($2 increase). If you pay yearly for an individual plan, it’s going from $99 per year to $109 a year. Apple’s movie and TV streaming service, Apple TV+ (not to be confused with Apple TV the set-top box), is also affected....

An apparent bug in iOS 15 is causing Apple Music to force itself back into your home screen dock, even if you’ve previously deleted the app from your device. This means that if you delete Apple Music from your iPhone and re-download it from the App Store, the app will automatically go back in your dock and replace whatever app was previously there. The bug was first spotted by iOS developer Kevin Archer on Twitter....

Apple is partnering with Akamai, Etsy, and Swiss Re to develop two new wind and solar energy farms in Illinois and Virginia. The new project is planned to produce 290 megawatts to the PJM electric grid, serving major parts of the Eastern United States. The collective group, with the help from 3Degrees, will be purchasing 125 megawatts from a wind farm near the Chicago area, and 165 megawatts from a solar PV project in Virginia....

As predicted, Apple just confirmed at its special iPad mini event that it would refresh the Mac mini lineups with upgraded internals. The new models will retain the same pricing as previous generation Mac minis, starting with $599 and $799 configurations and a third $999 server model. Specs for the new models line up with the specs we posted this morning, including the first quad-core Mac mini: 2.5 GHz dual-core i5, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard drive 2....

Apple has released the latest version of Final Cut Pro, version 10.6.2. The FCP update includes two primary new features – Duplicate Detection and Voice Isolation. Duplicate Detection is a feature that will be much appreciated for those editing long-form content and documentaries, while Voice Isolation wields machine learning to help isolate voice frequencies. Final Cut Pro 10.6.2 and updates to its companion apps – Motion and Compressor – are now available for download on the Mac App Store right now....

The Times of India reports that Apple is planning to re-introduce the 8 GB version of the iPhone 4 in India to combat its sluggish sales. The report states that the company hopes the even lower price of the device will help win back its share of the market, which is slipping away to competitors. The phone would be available at a lower price than before, reportedly around ₹15,000 (about $240)....

Apple launched its first Apple retail stores in May, 2001, entering the high street market in the same year Gateway began to divest itself of its own-brand retail shops. Critics warned Apple would fail in the scheme. David A. Goldstein, president of researcher Channel Marketing Corp. famously told Business Week: “I give them two years before they’re turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake.” He was wrong....

Engineer Sam Jadallah announced this week that he’s leaving Apple after working at the company for less than three years. At Apple, Jadallah was the Head of Home Services, which includes the HomeKit system for home automation. The reasons why the engineer decided to leave Apple are unknown. It’s also unclear who will take over as head of HomeKit at Apple after Jadallah’s departure. That’s a wrap with Apple. I’m so grateful for the friendships that will endure and the opportunity to shape and create new capabilities for people and homes around the world....

Apple has rolled out the new iCloud.com beta website for registered iOS and Mac developers. The new website was leaked prior to WWDC and is accessible at beta.icloud.com. The new iCloud.com beta does not include many changes, but Notes and Reminders applications have been built for the web. Also included is a new Find my iPhone and an improved Calendar application. (Via MacRumors). After the break, we have added a screenshot tour of the new iCloud....

Apple Music is growing its Latin music sector with its latest Miami-based hire. Juan Paz is the new Global Head of Latin Music Business at Apple Music. Reported by Billboard, this is a new position for the music streaming service and is effective immediately. In this role, Paz will will lead the company’s global Latin business and work with Latin music business partnerships teams. Based in Miami, Apple is growing its presence in the city where Paz will collaborate with established and up and coming artists, indies, media partners, creative agencies, among others....

The Apple Card owner can invite other people to share their card and track everyone’s spending on the Wallet app. The code also suggests that the Daily Cash will also be available for family members. The card owner can set a spending limit for each invited user. Once this feature is available, Apple Card can be shared with family members who are 13 or older, and there will be dedicated options for parents to control their children’s spending....

Update: Patently Apple notes that this patent has now been granted (19th April 2016). Apple patent application published today shows that the Force Touch trackpad used in the 12-inch MacBook and latest 13-inch MacBook Pro could get more sophisticated in future versions. The patent describes how a mix of vibration and temperature could fool your finger into ‘feeling’ different surfaces, such as metal and wood. The patent describes how vibrations could be used to simulate a textured surface, such as the grain of a wooden surface … For example, a glass surface may be controlled to have the temperature of a relatively cooler metal material and/or a relatively warmer wood material […]...

An Apple spokesperson listed several actions the company is taking in relation to its business in Russia. “We have taken a number of actions in response to the invasion. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia....

Apple has decided to pull its planned WWDC new Apple TV hardware announcement, according to a new claim. Apple planned to debut the new box at the June 8th kickoff keynote before making the decision to scrap the hardware and SDK introduction in mid-May, according to the new report: We’ve reported that Apple has been planning a redesigned Apple TV box with app functionality, Siri voice search, and a new remote control for sometime, but it appears those won’t be showcased until later, according to newspaper The New York Times....

Following today’s event, Apple has just released iOS 14.5 RC to developers and public beta users. The update brings loads of new features including two new Siri voices, strong protection against app tracking, a redesigned Podcasts experience, and much more. iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4 include a major change to the integration between iPhone and Apple Watch. For the first time, your Apple Watch will now unlock your iPhone when you’re wearing a face covering....

A new report from Business Insider today reveals that after making its first stab at acquiring Leap Motion back in 2013, Apple may have made another offer between $30m-$50m for the augmented reality start up this year. Leap employees were reportedly celebrating this past spring when it seemed Apple was close to acquiring the company for as much as $50 million. Things were moving along and Apple even sent out some paperwork in official folders....

Apple is said to be planning to launch a subscription service for games. A report from Cheddar cites five anonymous sources that suggest Apple is talking to game developers to be part of a new subscription service. Similar to Netflix, users would pay a set fee for unlimited access to a selection of titles. Further details like pricing or availability were not stated. The talks apparently included Apple acting as a publisher for titles, which would see Apple talking a more hands-on approach in the release of new games....

3.89 million Macs (up 27% Y-o-Y) 9.09 million iPods (down 11%) 14.1 million iPhones (up 91%) almost double! That is 156,000/day 4.19 million iPads (that’s a lot considering that earlier this year 5 million was forecasted for the full year, not just a quarter. Apple’s revenue train keeps on chugging, yet somehow Wall St. was expecting more. Apple is hovering around 300, down 5% in after hours trading. Apple is forecasting another blow out next quarter (first quarter of fiscal 2011) including revenue of $23 billion....