Dialog has been part of the Apple supply chain for some time, but has faced financial uncertainty amidst rumors Apple is developing its own power management chips. In an interesting turn of events this morning, Apple and Dialog announced a new business agreement where Apple will license power management technology from Dialog, in exchange for an upfront $300 million payment and another $300 million in purchase agreements over the next three years....

According to Bloomberg, Apple is currently in negotiations with major music labels regarding some major enhancements they are planning to bring to iTunes by mid-2011. These enhancements are said to focus around an “unlimited” download approach (with help from Lala?) so users can instantly re-download lost or damaged music titles. The potential changes, that Apple is working on with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp., and EMI Group Ltd, would also allows users to re-download songs, on the same Apple ID account, on multiple devices....

The iPhone and Apple Watch Series 2 are scheduled to go up for pre-order later this evening and ahead of that, the Apple Online Store has gone down. Apple generally always takes down its online store before events and product launches in order to build suspense. Like normal, Apple’s website teases that the company has “something special” in store for customers: The Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are slated to go up for pre-order at 12:01AM PT/3:01AM ET....

Apple has opened a subsidiary company in Vietnam, its fastest-growing iPhone market, reports Reuters. The company will ‘conduct wholesale business,’ read: directly import and distribute iPhones within the country. Apple tripled its sales in Vietnam in the first half of last year – a higher growth rate than in either China or India, though of course among a far smaller population. Apple Vietnam Limited Liability was established on Oct. 28 with a registered capital of 15 billion dong ($672,194), according to a news announcement recorded on Vietnam’s national business registry website....

Update: Apple Pay is now rolling out in Poland, according to Think Apple. Thus far, two banks are live with their support, but more are expected to come. Apple Pay is reportedly rolling out in Poland as early as tomorrow, June 19. Apple Pay just launched in Poland at 5 a.m.@9to5mac @MacRumors @appleinsider pic.twitter.com/fQqAu8QffP — Baerok (@Baerok) June 19, 2018 As reported by Polish blog Cashless.pl, the service will be landing in Poland this week with the following banks: Alior, BGŻ BNP Paribas, BZ WBK, Getin, mBank, Nest Bank, Pekao and Raiffeisen Polbank....

Apple’s system status website for developers indicates that there is an ongoing issue impacting its SKAdNetwork platform in iOS 16.1. The problem will be fixed “in a software update,” Apple says, and it comes as testing of iOS 16.1.1 continues to ramp up, according to web analytics data. iOS 16.1.1 on the way Apple recently updated its system status page for developers to explain: “There is an issue impacting SKAdNetwork for users on iOS 16....

Despite comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook last year about India remaining a lower priority than many other emerging markets, a report from Reuters today detailed how Apple is “aggressively pushing” the iPhone in India through payment plans and a new marketing campaign. Cook suggested last year that India wasn’t the biggest international focus for Apple and multi-layer distribution in the country “really adds to the cost of getting products to market....

Almost 38 years after the most famous ad in the world aired, director Ridley Scott has revealed his first reaction to Apple’s 1984 ad script … Like Philip Elmer-DeWitt, I didn’t think there was any part of the 1984 story I hadn’t heard before, but Scott’s comments in The Hollywood Reporter were new to me too. The key elements of the story behind the ad have of course been told and retold many times....

A report suggests that Nintendo is being forced to limit its sales targets for the Switch game console due to component shortages in part created by Apple … The WSJ reports that the games company has limited its sales target for the year to 10M, though it really wants to make double that. Flash memory manufacturer Toshiba says demand for its NAND chips is ‘overwhelmingly greater’ than supply due to demand from Apple and other smartphone manufacturers....

An Apple Japanese antitrust investigation was closed last month, when the Cupertino company made a major concession. But just six weeks later, a new antitrust investigation has been opened in Japan, into the market dominance of iOS and Android. The news comes on the same day that the Dutch antitrust authority found Apple’s in-app payment arrangements to be anti-competitive … Background The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) previously conducted an investigation into the App Store’s in-app purchase system....

Apple has reached deals for two new films as part of its ongoing original content efforts. According to a new report from Deadline, Apple has inked deals for a documentary called ‘The Elephant Queen’ and an animated film called ‘Wolfwalkers.’ First, Apple has acquired rights to the documentary ‘The Elephant Queen’ from Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble. The documentary is about Athena, an elephant who must lead her family on a search for food and water:...

It’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day today, May 17, and Apple is marking the occasion by highlighting its accessibility features on the apple.com homepage … Under the heading ‘technology is most powerful when it empowers everyone,’ the link points to the company’s accessibility microsite, introduced by a film. The film also offers a transcript which can be read by those unable to see it, using Apple’s VoiceOver feature. The page outlines the accessibility features offered by Apple products in four categories:...

Apple has released the second iOS 11 public beta for the iPhone and iPad. As has been the case with previous public beta releases, this allows users who are not registered developers to test pre-release versions of iOS with new features for free. When it comes to stability and app compatibility, the same warnings apply to any pre-release software: apps might crash, battery life may be sub-optimal, and performance may be sluggish....

Apple today has released the sixth developer beta of macOS Catalina. This comes after Apple released the seventh developer beta of iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, and tvOS 13 last week. Apple took several weeks to release macOS Catalina developer beta 6. The company released beta 5 to developers on July 31st. Hands-on with 200+ iOS 13 changes and features [Video] Hands-on with 50 new iPadOS 13 changes and features [Video] Previewing CarPlay in iOS 13: Light mode, new and improved apps, more watchOS 6 Guide tvOS 13 Guide Hands-on: macOS Catalina top features [Video]

We’re less than one week out since Apple introduced the first iOS 12.4 developer beta for testing, and Apple appears to be ready to release iOS 12.4 beta 2. We also expect iOS 12.4 public beta 2 to be released today. iOS 12.4 beta doesn’t yet include any visible changes for users, but there are some under-the-hood changes to prepare iPhones and iPads for Apple Card, the new credit card coming from Apple later this summer....

Update: Apple has also released a new version of iOS 13 developer beta 3 to all developers. Apple today is releasing the second public beta of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13. The update comes two weeks after Apple released the first public beta of the new operating system to users. If you’re running the public beta of iOS 13 or iPadOS 13, you’ll be able to update via the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad....

Apple announced two changes to its iAd platform today, expanding the reach and available formats of the ad network in an attempt to reel in more advertisers. The first of these changes is support for brand new iAd styles, including those pre-roll videos we’ve all come to know and love on YouTube. Full-screeninterstitial have also been added to the selection, with both new formats detailed in an updated implementation guide....

Apple Stores are so effective at bringing shoppers into malls that the company has been able to negotiate much lower rent deals than most shops, the Wall Street Journal said in a report today. While most tenants have worked out deals to pay about 15% of their sales in rent, Apple’s ability drive traffic has enabled the company to keep its rent as low as a meager 2%. The only way things could get better for Apple, it seems, is if the Cupertino tech maker was able to secure the same agreement as large department stores, which pay nothing in rent and simply pay fees to help manage the up-keep of the mall’s common areas....

Apple this afternoon evacuated employees from a building at its Austin, Texas campus briefly due to a fire located on the roof, according to several local and reader reports. Local KXAN News reported that solar panels on the roof of offices at 5500 block of West Parmer Lane were the cause of the fire. The Austin Fire Department later confirmed the fire was extinguished and that employees, none of which reported injuries, were waiting to return to the building....

Apple has renewed its long-running non-fiction original Carpool Karaoke: The Series for a fifth season. The show was one of Apple’s first forays into original content, before the TV+ division had been set up, alongside the quickly-cancelled Planet of the Apps. Up to now, the series has been branded as hailing from Apple Music video department and made available via the Apple Music and Apple TV apps. Starting with season five, it will now be branded as an Apple TV+ original series and appear alongside Apple’s other flagship premium titles....