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Apple has posted a series of support documents for the swathe of products it introduced yesterday, confirming, among other things, some compatibility problems with the new Magic Mouse when used with Windows via Boot Camp. The company yesterday introduced: New iMac models (already breaking hearts everywhere) New MacBook models New model Mac minis (including a media server) MultiTouch Mighty Mouse All-new Apple Remote Confirmed ‘imminent’ Snow Leopard 10.6.2 release New AirPort and Time Capsule iterations....

The Loop’s Dave Mark yesterday spotted a video that has so far flown under the radar: an Apple Park Spaceship campus video tour that takes us into the non-public areas… You can visit the on-campus Apple Store, and some people get invited to events in the Steve Jobs Theater, but the spaceship ring itself is normally strictly off-limits to visitors. However, travel videographer Yongsung Kim somehow managed it, filming everything from his drive into the underground parking lot to a walk, a tour of the Theater, then through a section of the main ring and inner grounds....

The Nest smoke detector may look decidedly old-fashioned if one Apple patent ever makes it into production. Apple has patented the idea of embedding smoke detectors into “electronic devices” and using those devices to provide a comprehensive response to a fire. In other words, your Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad or Mac could detect smoke, alert you, alert other devices within range, activate sprinklers, call emergency services and use the fact that an iDevice is moving or in use to tell fire crews where in the building you and your family members are … In response to detecting smoke with the smoke detector, the electronic device may issue an alert or take other suitable action....

In September, Banco de Chile, one of the most important banks of the South American country, let its customers add their cards to the iPhone’s Wallet app to use Apple Pay. A few days later, the bank removed these cards as Apple wasn’t ready to promote the service just yet. Now, a new piece of evidence shows that Banco de Chile is readying again the launch of Apple’s own payment system in the near future....

Just in case there hadn’t already been enough evidence of Apple Pay support coming to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the iOS 8.1 update, the second beta of the operating system, which was released earlier today, contains the setup screen for the system. The change isn’t visible to most users right now, but Hamad Sood been able to make it appear: [tweet https://twitter.com/hamzasood/status/519675092867899392 align=’center’] Sood has also found the Apple Pay setup screens that will show during the initial setup of a new device running iOS 8....

A day after releasing macOS 10.13.2 beta 4, Apple has released the fourth beta version of iOS 11.2 beta for developers. tvOS 11.2 beta and watchOS 4.2 beta are also available for testing. 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. iPhone 8 / 8 Plus / X marketing still wallpapers now available on older iPhones (download here) Feedback app included during beta No sign of Messages in iCloud yet, some level of AirPlay 2 present Calculator bug caused by slow animation fixed Some emoji are tweaked Additional Live wallpapers for iPhone X (see here) Apple Pay Cash beta for testing New introductory pricing option for subscription apps New Control Center explainer for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth behaviors New Control Center indicator on iPhone X (previously spotted from Apple but not in prior iOS versions) tvOS 11....

Apple is reportedly gearing up to release its own augmented reality ‘headset’ as early as 2020, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The device would feature an independent screen and integrated chipsets. Bloomberg says the device could ship by 2020, but the plan is ‘very aggressive’ and timelines can always slip back. Apple is engineering its own system-on-a-package for the headset, similar to the Apple Watch S1 chip. The product would run a new ‘rOS’ operating system, based off of an iOS core....

Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has begun a search to find senior-level executives for their cloud services. According to the report, Apple already has one Internet entrepreneur in their sights, but it hasn’t been disclosed who. To assist with their search, Apple is also reportedly looking into hiring out a recruiting firm to find solid talent. The hopes in finding new leadership for their cloud products is undoubtedly to strengthen Apple’s already existent iCloud, but to also build new web-based applications....

During this week’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook answered a question on virtual reality by saying “I don’t think VR is a niche…It’s really cool and has some interesting applications.” It looks like Cook’s statements have some background to them. According to a new Financial Times report, Apple had reportedly been prototyping VR headsets in the past under Steve Jobs in the mid-2000s, but the project was eventually abandoned once the technology was found to still be immature....

The Moscow News reports that Apple plans to begin direct sales of its own products in Russia in 2013. Apparently, Apple’s own in-house stores will come to Russia in the future, but that time frame appears unclear. Apple executives reportedly looked for Apple retail real estate in Russia last year, but came up empty handed. IFOAppleStore reported last year that Apple retail executives (including former retail SVP Ron Johnson) and Bob Bridger were scouting Russian land....

A report in November claimed that Apple was considering the possibility of entering the digital glasses market, as Snapchat recently did. Now, Robert Scoble, a popular blogger, claims that Apple is working with German optics company Carl Zeiss on its digital glasses. Scoble cites an unnamed Zeiss employee as his source, noting that the two companies are working on a “light pair of augmented reality/mixed reality glasses.” The timeline for release is still foggy....

Apple just announced its second quarter results for 2014 with revenue for the quarter coming in at $45.6 billion. That’s compared to the guidance it previously provided of $42 – $44 billion and estimates by analysts averaging approximately $43.5B. Apple’s $45.6 billion in revenue reported today is also up from the $43.6 billion in revenue in the year ago quarter. Break down of device sales for Q2 2014 include 43.7m million iPhones, 16....

AirPods Pro’s New Conversation Boost Feature Apple first previewed the new conversation boost feature at WWDC, and now it’s actually available for AirPods Pro owners, as spotted by MacRumors. While not quite a hearing aid, the feature is designed to help you hear people talking more clearly and louder. Instead of your earbuds blocking conversation with the outside world, AirPods Pro earbuds will help you hear better. Obviously, the feature is designed to help people with minor hearing issues, and it won’t replace an actual hearing aid....

Except none of this is true, at least not in the sincerest of terms. For Windows users, iTunes isn’t going anywhere– at least not anytime soon. For Mac users, the story is a little bit more confusing, but I’ll do my best to explain. If you’re in the latter category and don’t have the time to read further, be comfortable in knowing that the bottom line changes that are coming later this year aren’t nearly as substantial as some others might have lead you to believe....

While announcing the new Studio Display, Apple said it’s launching a standalone optional silver-and-black Magic Trackpad, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse. This is the same redesigned Magic Keyboard Apple launched during last year’s Spring Loaded event, but now in a new silver-and-black color. Previously, it was only available when buying a new 24-inch iMac, featuring matching colors. It offers Touch ID, new keys for emoji, Spotlight, Do Not Disturb, and locking your Mac....

Pre-order sales for Apple’s newly announced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus kicked off last night at 3:01 AM EST with the larger 5.5-inch model quickly seeing ship dates slip, but some customers were unable to complete the pre-order process on Apple’s online store due to issues reaching carrier systems. Rather than receiving a purchase confirmation, these customers were issued reservation numbers for the iPhone model attempting to be pre-ordered with the promise that the order can be finalized with carrier systems were able to be accessed again....

Apple has unveiled a new tool for users to help determine whether an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is configured to use Activation Lock. The page works much like the tools used by carriers such as AT&T to determine whether a potential trade-in device was protected with the feature. You enter the IMEI or serial number of the device, fill in a CAPTCHA, and press “Continue” to get your results (via iDownloadblog)....

The city of Cupertino has reportedly now given Apple the permits needed to move employees into five of the 12 sections of the spaceship ring at Apple Park … Permits for the remaining seven sections are due to be granted sometime between now and March, reports VentureBeat. Occupancy permits are needed when a company wants to move people in before construction is complete. The requirement is for safety reasons, city officials needing to satisfy themselves that employees would not be put at risk, explains Cupertino building official Albert Salvador....

Today, Apple has finally launched a version of its official online store for customers in Russia. The online store is similar in style to Apple’s online stores in other countries. Customers in Russia are now able to order iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, accessories, and more directly from Apple to their homes. Apple is celebrating the launch by taking up Apple Russia’s homepage to announce the new store (image above)… This online store is Apple’s first official sales presence in the country....

Apple today announced in a post on its Swift blog that it is open sourcing the Swift benchmark suite. This announcement comes two months after the company made the Swift programming language open source, allowing the developer community to have direct access to the platform. Much like the rest of Swift, the benchmarking suite is available now on GitHub with an open source Apache license. Specifically, the suite contains source code for benchmarks, libraries, and utilities....