Apple’s Smart Battery Case, with its controversial design, was released back in 2015 with support for the iPhone 6 and 6S and it now currently supports the iPhone 6, 6S and 7. With the release of iPhone X and iPhone 8, users wondered whether a new battery case would be released for this new iPhone design, but so far nothing has been announced nor released by Apple. This could change soon, based on an icon found in the latest watchOS beta (scroll down for icon)....

Following the announcement of the new iPad Pro at this morning’s special event in downtown Brooklyn, Apple has released two new informational videos that provide guidance for developers and designers updating their apps for the new displays and features. Designing for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and Bringing Your Apps to the New iPad Pro both dive deep into the technical and experiential factors that make a great iPad app. Rounded display corners and the home indicator first appeared last year on the iPhone X, but for iPad users, the experience is totally new....

A new set of job listings noticed by LightReading continue to show Apple’s focus on implementing VoLTE, or voice-over-LTE, support for including high quality call quality on new iPhones. Specifically, the job listings seek both a Cellular Systems Protocol Engineer with hands-on experience in wireless technologies including VoLTE and an iOS Wireless Communication Software Engineer with “SIP, RTP, and VoIP related protocols”, showing the company is continuing to beef up its expertise around the technology....

[slideshow] Update: More images from MacRumors forums. First posted by MacStories, we now have some images of Apple’s preparations at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco where the company will hold its next-generation iPad event and possibly the introduction of a refreshed Apple TV. You can see Apple has started hanging its large banners that will more than likely display images of whatever is announced. The event is slated to kick off on March 7 at 10 a....

We’re waiting for Apple Q2 2020 earnings to be announced on Thursday, and with both supply-chain disruption and reduced demand due to the coronavirus crisis, it’s obvious that the company’s financials are going to take a hit. But while analysts do expect both revenue and earnings per share to be down, they are not expecting a bloodbath… Reuters reports that the Wall Street consensus is for a 6% drop in revenue and 11% fall in net income for the company’s fiscal Q2/calendar Q1....

Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 7 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below. Beta 1 New Privacy explainer included in macOS 32-bit app warning starting now New ‘Ink Cloud’ wallpaper on all Macs, previously iMac Pro only Messages in the Cloud is opt-in on High Sierra, requires checking a box Beta 2-3 iBooks Mac app renamed Books to match iOS (iBooks Author is a Mac App Store app so it likely won’t change until the beta cycle ends ) Beta 4-6 iBooks reverted back to Books Refresh for updates....

Apple wasn’t kidding when it said that the first “Golden Master” of OS X Yosemite was a candidate. The Cupertino-company just issued OS X Yosemite GM 2.0 for developers, and it’s available in Software Update on the Mac App Store. Public Beta 5 is also out for those in the AppleSeed program. The new seed is labeled as build number 14A386a, and it does not appear to include any noticeable changes over the previously provided built....

A bumpy battery case isn’t the only new product from Apple this month. The iPad-specific Lightning to SD Card Reader has been replaced with a newer version with the same name, appearance, and price, but one important electronic difference. It now takes advantage of the faster USB 3 transfer speeds supported by new iPad Pros and works with iPhones… As was the case with its predecessor, the new Lightning to SD Card Reader allows iPad users to import photos and videos from SD cards used in digital cameras for viewing and editing on the tablet....

Following the news that Apple is to discontinue its Mac Pro line in Europe due to new regulatory standards, Apple is reportedly prepping a new Mac Pro product for spring 2013. The news comes from Apple reseller France Systemes (via Mac4Ever & Macg.co), an Apple Authorized Reseller and Certified Education Center in France with 17 years in the business, which claimed in a recent newsletter to customers that Apple has confirmed the discontinuation of Mac Pros in the country would only be temporary....

Last week Apple’s open sourcing of Swift naturally saw the spotlight thrown over Apple’s open source pages. This included a paragraph that claimed Apple was “the first major computer company to make Open Source a key part of its strategy”. Unsurprisingly, this riled some members of the developer community as being disingenuous and untrue. So Apple has since changed the text to retract the rather outlandish statement with something a bit more muted....

Apple today has drastically simplified the iPhone trade-in program that allows eligible smartphones to be traded in for credit towards the purchase of a future device. Today’s changes allow customers to use the trade-in credit to help lower the cost of the a new iPhone purchase or to reduce monthly payments made to a carrier. With the changes to the trade up program consumers will now be able to get up to $250 in credit for their smartphones, down from the original $300....

2020 is (thankfully) coming to a close and Apple has shared some handy collections for what it considers the best content from this year. The lists include the most popular podcasts, books, audiobooks, and more like “Biggest Shows of 2020.” And in a first, Apple Podcasts has named a “Show of the Year” with the honor going to NPR’s Code Sw!tch. Apple shared the news on Twitter and across its Podcasts and Books apps in the Browse sections....

iTunes 8 does indeed feature a new visualiser, and that visualiser is Magnetosphere, as we predicted last week (with thanks to the excellent Create Digital Music website). Video producer and designer Allan White has claimed Magnetosphere was purchased by Apple for deployment within iTunes. It’s not the first time Apple’s purchased a technology – then called SoundJam, iTunes was itself purchased from now defunct firm, Casady and Greene, in 2000....

Apple has just launched its annual 12 Days of Gifts campaign for 2013. In previous years, this campaign was available only in a few select countries, but not in the United States. For the first time Apple will now allow U.S. customers to participate in the giveaway. The 12 Days of Gifts app is available for free on the iTunes Store. Each day for twelve days the app will provide a special free item from the iTunes, iBooks, and App Stores....

Apple is reportedly in talks about buying cobalt direct from miners in a long-term deal set to span five years or more. The report is given weight by the CEO of one mining company confirming Apple has held discussions about cobalt, which is used in the lithium-ion batteries which power Apple devices. There would be two benefits to Apple in striking such a deal … First, as the Bloomberg report notes, it would allow the company to secure supplies of a key component at a time when shortages are feared....

Photo of iPad 3 units being loaded on planes? (thanks @sonnydickson) Some new tidbits are coming our way as the days until Apple’s next major announcement dwindle down. The first item of note is a purported shipping document for iPad 3 units. The document appeared on Twitter-like website Sina Weibo, and it is highlighted by Apple.pro. The origin seems to be in the WeiPhone forums. According to the image’s poster, the shipping document (shown below) details shipments beginning Feb....

Apple is today introducing an Apple Music plan aimed at students. The service is identical in features to the standard plan but rather than paying $9.99 per month, qualifying students can subscribe to Apple Music for $4.99 per month. The offering is rolling out today in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and more countries (via TechCrunch). Prices vary per region but the discount should be around 50% of the normal Apple Music price....

Apple Music for Android is getting a small but significant update today, adding a handful of new features for Music Video playback. Today’s update brings the app to version 2.4.0. While support for Music Videos has been available on Android since 2016, Apple is now getting around to adding various new features that bring the Android app more in line with iOS. Alongside support for Music Videos, the update includes stability improvements that will make “music playback more reliable on more devices....

Apple has inked new deals for Apple Music with a handful of major record labels, the Financial Times reports today. While these deals ensure that popular artists like Taylor Swift will remain available through Apple Music, they do not include an agreement to pair Apple Music with other Apple services through a bundle. The report cites four people familiar with the matter and says that Apple has inked multiyear licensing agreements for Apple Music with Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music....

The store button in the Audible app (left) and the new version acknowledging the removal of the button to comply with Apple’s rules (right). UPDATE: [Monday, October 10, 2011 at 12:40am ET]: Well, that sure was quick. A new version of the Audible app has just gone live on the App Store, without the link to Audible’s Mobile Store from the app. The development actually means someone at Apple’s App Store team messed up....