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Update (7/10 9:00am): Looks like the store got pretty popular this week. It has been updated with the following message: “More inventory coming in on Friday – We are currently replenishing our inventory for our Factory Certified store, please check back soon!” In late 2012 we uncovered an eBay store that was selling Apple certified refurbished products (iPad, MacBook, iPod, more). Though never officially confirmed by Apple itself, this storefront had all the makings of being officially tied to Apple in some capacity....

Apple is releasing the third developer beta of iOS 14.3 today, which includes new features such as Apple ProRAW for iPhone 12 Pro users. Today’s release of iOS 14.3 beta 3 comes two weeks after iOS 14.3 beta 2 was released to developers. Update: Public beta now available too. iOS 14.3 beta 3 is 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 today has released the fourth public beta of macOS Catalina to testers. This update comes following the release of the fifth developer beta yesterday. Apple has also today released a supplemental update for macOS 10.14.6. macOS Catalina public beta 4 is now available via System Preferences, if you’re already running the public beta. If not, you can sign up to do so on Apple’s website. Apple released the fourth public beta of iOS 13 to testers on Tuesday....

Update: iOS 10 Public Beta 1 is now live. It features the same build version (14A5297c) as iOS 10 Developer Beta 2. Following the latest iOS 10 beta for registered developers, Apple is releasing the very first iOS 10 public beta for non-developers to test on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch today. Back in mid-June at WWDC 2016, Apple first promised iOS 10 would hit public beta status sometime in July....

Apple retail executives John Browett and Bob Bridger at an Apple Store opening (via Flickr) Earlier this month, we heard several reports that Apple Store part-time employees were seeing layoffs and that Apple was cutting hours for some employees. Apple followed up by stating that these new policies would be reversed. It seems that affected employees got their jobs back, however, IFOAppleStore comprehensively reports that newly implemented revenue-emphasizing policies and budget cuts remain in place....

Shopping analytics giant Kantar Worldpanel reports that Apple’s smartphone has experienced its first fall in market share in urban China since 2014. Kantar said that the increasing popularity of local smartphone brands was the main reason for the fall … “For the first time since August 2014, iOS share did not grow in urban China in the 3 months ending February,” said Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia....

Apple Music’s Zane Lowe has debuted a new podcast that will be home to his interviews with popular artists. The latest episode is with Lady Gaga as she’s about to launch her new album Chromatica. Even though the podcast just launched, it also features interviews from previous guests he’s had on Beats 1. Zane Lowe shared on Twitter today the news that his new podcast, The Zane Lowe Interview Series is now available....

As perhaps further evidence of Apple exploring ways to make its entry-level products more affordable, a patent published today describes using an iPhone as the brains of a MacBook-style dumb terminal. As usual with patents, the language is dense, but the illustrations make clear the concept. The idea itself is not a new one, and is similar in essence to a currently-available HP product … An electronic accessory device, comprising: an operational component that provides an output to a user; a housing carrying the operational component, the housing having a recess; and a control interface coupled to the operational component and configured to receive a control signal from an electronic host device when the electronic host device is positioned within the recess and coupled to the control interface, wherein the electronic accessory device is inoperable without the electronic host device being coupled to the control interface....

It’s been a couple of years since Apple launched the Express Transit feature for users to pay for public transportation just by taking the iPhone closer to an NFC terminal, without the need for an ID verification. The function, which has been available for London users for quite some time, is now being promoted inside the Wallet app, even if the user already has the Express Transit feature set. This was spotted by some Twitter users, including designer Luiz Ottino and developer Nikolak Hansen-Turton, when they opened the Wallet app....

Apple rebranded its reuse and recycling trade-in program earlier this year as “Apple GiveBack.” Now, customers buying new devices on Apple’s website or the Apple Store app can use a trade-in to instantly offset the cost. Previously, using Apple’s trade-in program online meant shipping off your device and waiting for an Apple gift card or debit card with the corresponding value. To receive a credit that could be applied against the new purchases immediately meant visiting an Apple Store....

US iTunes users can purchase HBO shows including, “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Deadwood” and “Rome”, “Flight of the Concords” and “The Wire.” What’s interesting is the price: “Sex and the City,” “The Wire” and “Flight of the Conchords” cost $1.99 per episode, while “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome” cost $2.99 per episode. Until now, Apple has only been prepared to offer TV shows at $1.99 each. It’s thought HBO has been able to achieve a slight liberalisation of Apple’s price controls, though as yet we don’t know if other studios plan to emulate HBO with introduction of $2....

In addition to iOS 11.3 public beta 1, Apple has released the first tvOS 11.3 public beta for Apple TV (fourth gen) and Apple TV 4K. The new public beta follows two days after the release of tvOS 11.2.5 for all customers. When used with iOS 11.2.5 on iPhone and iPad, content playing on tvOS 11.2.5 appears as a Now Playing option in Control Center. Here’s what’s new in tvOS 11....

Just one day after seeding the fourth macOS Monterey beta to developers, the latest build is now available for public beta testers. Apple at first said Universal Control was enabled in the release notes but then removed it. However, Apple has turned on Live Text support for Intel Macs in the new Monterey beta. The new macOS Monterey beta 4 (technically public beta 3) is showing up now via OTA for those already enrolled....

Apple has released the second watchOS 3.2.3 beta for Apple Watch. The update is only available to registered developers for testing. watchOS 3.2.3 beta follows the release of watchOS 3.2.2 for all users. Both updates focus on bug fixes and performance improvements. watchOS 3.2.3 is only available to registered developers. Apple features a public beta program for iOS and macOS while watchOS and tvOS are developer only. We’ll update if any changes or release notes are discovered or shared....

Update: iOS 12.1.4 is now available. Last week was a tough one for Apple and privacy. First, a huge bug in Group FaceTime would allow someone to eavesdrop on another FaceTime user just by calling them and adding themselves to a group call before the contact answered. Then, a project from Facebook was revealed to be spying on users, violating Apple’s Enterprise Developer Program policies. The latter was dealt with by revoking Facebook’s enterprise certificate, rendering their internal apps unusable....

With the new watch band collection introduced today, Apple has retired the leather loop which was originally introduced in 2015 with the first generation Apple Watch. The band is no longer available to purchase from Apple with the leather link and modern buckle now being the only two Apple-designed leather bands. (Photo credit: Basic Apple Guy)

Apple updated its COVID-19 screening app yesterday to version 4.0 but it didn’t appear to come with any user-facing changes based on the release notes. As it turns out, one noteworthy update is the option to anonymously share symptoms and health info with the CDC. The release notes for Apple’s COVID-19 app update yesterday just say version 4.0 “includes bug fixes and improvements.” But it was curious Apple moving the app from version 3....

Times of India is reporting that Apple is expected to have hit $1B in revenue in India in the financial year ended on 31st March – up 42% year-on-year, and a tripling of revenue over the past three years. India is one of the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China) where Apple is expecting to see a large chunk of its future growth. It had previously been reported that Apple sold half a million iPhones in the final calendar quarter of 2014, and Cybermedia Research estimates that it sold 1....

Along with the launch of the new iPad Air and iPad mini today, Apple has updated a few of its accessories including the Smart Cover and iPad Pro Smart Folio. The Smart Cover for the 10.5-inch iPad Air (3rd-generation) is available in four colors including charcoal gray, white, pink sand, and a new option: papaya. It runs $49. The Leather Smart Cover for iPad Air is back at $69 in four colors: midnight blue, saddle brown, black, and red....

Update: The Apple News service appears to be fully operational once again. Original story below unchanged. Many users are unable to use the Apple News app this morning. Rather than seeing a feed of today’s stories, upon opening the app, users are presented with an error message stating that the feed is unavailable. If you dismiss the dialog, other areas of the News app appear still to be up. So you can browse the News+ catalog or find individual channels, but the main Today news feed is not loading....