Apple today has released its latest transparency report, showing the number of government demands for user data it received. In the past, Apple has released this data in the form of a PDF, and while that still remains an option this time, the company has also launched a new interactive website to view the information. As reported by TechCrunch, Apple’s latest transparency report covers January through June of 2018. During that time period, Apple received a total of 32,342 demands for user data from governments, which is up 9 percent compared to the last reporting period....

In the past, Apple was able to sneak Liquidmetal into production by building the SIM ejector tool using the material. Now, it looks like Apple and Liquidmetal Technologies’ joint venture company, Crucible Intellectual Property, is preparing for mass volume production through manufacturing techniques found in a new patent called “Bulk amorphous alloy sheet forming processes”. Since the metal is expensive, liquidmetal won’t be replacing the aluminum shells of iOS or OS X devices anytime soon....

The next time you check the forecast in Apple’s Weather app, you might be greeted with a bit of news. Apple has added News integration for regional weather stories to the Weather app in the beta release of iOS 16.2. Weather × News For example, users will find a link for a San Francisco Chronicle article about Bay Area weather conditions as a new data point for San Francisco’s weather. Tapping the link to the Chronicle story opens the article in Apple News....

Apple, after reportedly being involved in early negotiations for the film, has put Sony’s “The Interview” up for streaming on iTunes. Apple is offering the film at the same price as Google, YouTube, and Xbox video – $6 to rent and $15 to own. Sony announced last week, that due to a lack of support from theaters and threats made by cyber hackers, it would not be releasing “The Interview” in theaters or online....

With the September event already “Far Out” of sight, rumors already show that Apple is readying an October event. This time, the company will focus on the new iPads, Macs, and their upcoming operating systems: iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura. Here’s what we know so far. Apple to introduce new iPad Pro at its October event In addition, a better battery life with new accessories could also be on way with this product....

Apple has announced that it is officially launching the ability for developers to sell Mac and iOS apps as a single purchase. Apple first detailed these plans back in February, teasing that the functionality would roll out to developers in March. Apple made the announcement in a post on its developer website this evening: As we explained last month, the developer simply must change their Mac app to use the same bundle identifier as their iOS app....

As Apple continues to expand its retail presence around the world, the company is said to be planning a new flagship location in Milan, Italy. According to a local report, Apple’s preliminary guidelines for the store were approved by the city’s planning department last month. According to the report, Apple has big plans for this location and intends to make it much more than just another retail store. The report notes that the location will be “one of the most innovative and technological Apple Stores in the world....

Apple intends to bargain with the newly formed labor union at its Maryland retail store, according to Reuters. Union efforts have reached Apple Store locations in New York, Georgia, and around the country. The Maryland retail location became the first store to unionize last Saturday after a 65 to 33 vote was held. President Biden praised the retail workers on Monday, expressing his pride for the workers exercising their right to organize....

According to the Wall (Street Journal)… CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co. are considering participating in Apple Inc.’s plan to offer television subscriptions over the Internet, according to people familiar with the matter, as Apple prepares a potential new competitor to cable and satellite TV. Boom! Certainly Jobs’ position on Disney’s Board is helping to move Disney (ABC) to Apple’s platform. Wouldn’t it be interesting if that his personal sale of Pixar to Disney was what gave Apple its chance as a Internet Network?...

Both capri blue and pink citrus are options available for the MagSafe silicone iPhone cases, so they match Apple’s other existing accessories. Meyer lemon, however, hasn’t been used for the iPhone 12 series of cases. It was previously used for the iPhone 11 Pro leather case and the leather loop band alongside the Apple Watch Series 5. Below you can see the California poppy leather key ring on the left next to the new Meyer lemon one....

Apple has removed game developer Slitherine’s Afghanistan ’11 from the iOS App Store for using a “specific person or real entity” as the enemy of the game, even though it is touted as being entirely historically accurate in depicting the US war in Afghanistan. Slitherine, a small UK based game developer, specializes in accurate war simulation games. With a strong emphasis placed on learning, rather than gameplay, further paired with the fact the app has been available for well over a year, it comes as a surprise that Apple chose to pull the plug here rather than giving Slitherine an outright rejection from the get-go....

Siri appears to have mistakenly been telling users this morning that election day isn’t until November 8. A lot of users noticed this and took to Twitter with screenshots, calling out the digital assistant for its mistake. It appears that Apple has taken notice and got around to fixing the mistake. Now, if users were to ask Siri when election day is, they would get the correct answer of today, November 3....

Apple’s move into original television content will be ‘very challenging,’ suggests 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch. Murdoch made the comment at Re/code‘s Code conference, while describing Apple’s involvement in TV production as ‘dabbling’ … His remarks were quoted by CNET. Fox agreed in December of last year to sell 21st Century Fox to Disney for around $66B. That isn’t yet a done deal, with Comcast launching its own bid to buy the Fox division....

In addition to releasing the first iOS 9.3.3 developer beta, Apple has issued OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Developer Beta 1 through the Mac App Store. The first pre-release version is available to developer testers and features build number 15G7a (up from 15F34 on the public version). The latest OS X beta is relatively small at roughly 600MB but does require a restart to complete installation. Release notes appear outdated, however, as they specifically mention OS X 10....

Leading up to the unveiling of a new lower-cost plastic ‘iPhone 5C’ expected at Apple’s September 10 event next month, Apple is looking to hire an “experienced plastics material engineer” to work on iPhones and iPads. The engineer would join Apple’s iPhone/iPad Materials team and must have “extensive experience in plastic material properties, part design and fabrication.” While we know the current iPhone and iPads do use some internal plastic parts, the job listing also makes mentions of aesthetic requirements as well as experience in “plastic materials and design for manufacturing in terms of geometry and cosmetic quality....

Earlier this year Apple was hit with a class action lawsuit over FaceTime being disabled on older iPhones that can’t run iOS 7, and this week an attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed has failed. Reuters reports that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh made the decision not to dismiss the lawsuit… Apple’s decision to stop supporting FaceTime on the iPhone 4 was a result of a patent lawsuit it lost against VirnetX which resulted in Apple switching to a cheaper method to support the video calling feature....

Apple Maps UK ground surveys are today beginning in three cities, using backpack-mounted cameras and sensors. Both Apple and Google use similar backpack systems to provide both Look Around imagery of areas that can only be reached on foot – whether mountain trails of pedestrian shopping precincts … Bloomberg reports. British cities are pedestrianizing a growing number of areas as they seek to make bricks-and-mortar shopping more attractive and reduce car usage....

The cases are priced at $129 for all three phones. Further, the iPhone XS/Max/XR Smart Battery cases are available in white and black. Apple touts that the new Smart Battery case for the iPhone XS adds 33 additional hours of talk time, 21 hours of internet use, and 25 hours of video. The iPhone XS Max case adds 37 hours of talk time, 20 hours of internet, and 25 hours of video playback....

As we reported exclusively last night, Apple Pay is now live in Ireland. The service allows iPhone and Apple Watch owners to use the NFC chips in their devices to pay for their shopping at contactless terminals in retail stores across the country. Apple Pay requires iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, or any Apple Watch, and is launching with support for Ulster Bank and KBC in Ireland. Apple has also announced that the service is coming soon to Italy....

Apple has released an updated build of iOS 9.3 for users affected by an activation bug, first reported last week. Although the version number is still 9.3, the update features a new build number, 13E5237, to signify the change. The issue prevented some iPhone and iPad owners from successfully completing the upgrade steps for iOS 9.3 if they could not recall their Apple ID info immediately, to pass Activation Lock....