Apple usually begins their Back to School promotion approximately three months prior to their annual fall music-related event. This Back to School promotion usually serves a way for Apple to clear out their iPod inventory ahead of an early September refresh for the lineup. Given that iPods will not be in this years Back to School promotion, we are not too sure what to think about this fall’s iPod upgrade situation....

Apple today announced new resources for elementary school coding with a new Everyone Can Code Early Learners guide and Inclusive App Design activity and updates to the Schoolwork app. According to a press release, this Everyone Can Code Early Learners guide is extending its coding curriculum resources from kindergarten to college. Educators can also try Apple’s new one-hour Inclusive App Design activity to introduce students to the world of coding and app development....

Apple Music for Android — one of Apple’s three apps on Google’s platform — has an update today that includes fixes for both playback and sorting issues. Here’s the change log for version 0.9.11: Apple Music for Android requires 4.3 Jelly Bean and up although it’s still not compatible with tablets. The app launched back in November — replacing Beats Music — and lists a 5-10 million install base according to the Play Store despite mixed reviews averaging at 3....

Throughout this summer, Apple will host a series of seven after-hours concerts at some of its top retail stores around the world. Performances will feature artists from Apple Music’s Up Next program. From San Francisco to Milan, Apple Music has joined forces with Today at Apple to create special events outside of the normal session schedule. The Up Next program spotlights promising artists every month in a curated Apple Music playlist, providing an impressive pool of talent for Apple to feature in stores....

Today, an Apple patent application popped up detailing a content creation and authoring tool that would allow designers to create content rich applications for various devices without programming code. While Apple’s patent covers a wide range of possible applications for the platform, it is clear to see the patent is describing the visual programming workflow introduced with iAD producer, Apple’s motion-rich ad creation platform launched in 2010. The patent—described in detail by PatentlyApple— provided the images above and and to the right, which clearly show elements of the existing iAD platform....

Asymco’s Horace Dediu has estimated that Apple’s iTunes business, initially intended only to cover its costs as a way of driving hardware sales, now earns the company annual profits of a cool $2 billion. What started as just a music store now sells music, video, books, iOS software, and Mac software. Revenues have grown five-fold in 7 years, with total sales approaching $5 billion a quarter and notching up an estimated 23 billion transactions a year....

Reuters sources have said that Apple’s billion dollar investment in Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing was one of the key factors that led to Uber ceasing independent operation in the country. It was announced earlier this week that Didi had acquired UberChina in return for a 20% shareholding. Apple invested $1B in Didi back in May, the same month that the company began actively seeking to acquire UberChina. Together with investments with Chinese tech companies Alibaba and Tencent, it was this which led Uber to conclude that it was being out-spent and would ultimately lose the expensive battle for market domination …...

The latest installment in Apple’s ongoing Shot on iPhone ad campaign is a daring one, a five-hour journey through the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Shot on iPhone 11 Pro in 4K, Apple says the 5 hour 19 minute 28 second video was recorded on one battery charge. The journey covers more than 45 galleries and not only features the art on exhibition, but Apple set up several live performances along the way....

In the hours before iOS 7 arrives for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, Apple has released iTunes 11.1 with several major new features. The download is available from Apple’s website. The new iTunes for Macs and PCs is headlined with iTunes Radio, Apple’s new free music streaming service. Also coming along for the ride in this new update is a new way to shuffle music found in Genius Playlists. Also new is Podcasts stations (which will sync over iCloud to the iOS app)....

Although the appeal of the Apple-Epic lawsuit is ongoing, Apple is currently subject to the judge’s decision and will have to allow app developers to show links to external payment platforms inside from December 9, unless the Ninth Circuit grants a stay. In a related legal filing, Apple indicates that it is considering charging a commission on any such transactions that are initiated from within an app, even though they are not using In-App Purchase....

The company’s shares exceeded the mark when they reached a price of $182.86 before Monday’s closing bell, according to CNBC. Although Apple’s share price would once again dip below the mark to close the day at $182.01, it represents an incredible milestone that the iPhone maker will certainly pass again as its upward trajectory continues. Apple reached the $1 trillion mark just a few years ago, passing it in August 2018 and quickly setting its sights on blowing by $2 trillion almost a year later in August 2019....

Not surprisingly, the big four non-Apple civilians who had been given iPhones to play with (and had signed their life away in NDAs) finally showed their cards ahead of the rest of the media yesterday. Also, not a surprise to anyone, they loved it almost unconditionally. How does the public let Apple get away with this round robin “give us good reviews and you get our newest product early, bad reviews and we give our new products to your competitors” game?...

It’s Thursday, October 16th, and that means Apple is taking the stage today to announce new versions of the iPad and the Mac. The Apple Online Store has already gone down this morning, which means that whatever Apple formally announces should be available to purchase or pre-order later today. An iTunes leak from yesterday confirms that Apple will be debuting a new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 today with Touch ID sensors and improved cameras, while sources first told us that Apple would also uncrate a brand-new iMac with Retina display at today’s event....

Update: Apple also added 30 more U.S. banks and credit unions for Apple Pay today. Full list after the break. Apple today updated its list of banks, credit unions and cards that offer Apple Pay to add 14 new Chinese institutions that now support the service. While Apple originally launched Apple Pay in China last February with a handful of partners, it’s been slowly adding support for more banks and credit unions in recent months, much the same way the company has rolled out the service gradually in other markets....

After years of waiting, tourists and Île-de-France citizens will finally be able to use public transportation’s Navigo card with Apple Pay on their iPhones and Apple Watches starting 2023. As reported by the French Apple blog iGeneration, the regional authority in charge of transport and Apple finally managed to reach an agreement after several years of negotiations. This contract with Île-de-France Mobilités and Apple is valid for five years. The publication reports a test phase will take place already in 2022 with iPhone and Apple Watch and they will be able to replace the plastic cards distributed by IDFM, such as Navigo’s....

AP sources a local Swiss publication. The Mondaine clock is an O.K. design, but I think Apple could have done a better job on its own and probably could have saved a few million bucks in the process. The $21 million figure represents about 10 cents per device if you figure 210 million devices going to iOS 6. The exact terms of the deal weren’t given. A SBB rep said at the time that SBB was more interested in bringing clarity to where and how Apple could use the logo than in raking in cash....

As promised, Apple has released GarageBand 10.1 through the Mac App Store. The update includes previously highlighted new features including 10 new Drummers, new synths and a ‘Transform Pad’ feature. The update also includes support for Apple’s new Force Touch trackpads from the 12-inch MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro. For artists publishing to Apple Music, its new streaming music service launched today, GarageBand 10.1 adds the ability to publish directly to Apple Music Connect....

Nearly one month following the initial iOS 7.1 beta, Apple has released a second beta to developers. The beta is available via the online developer center portal, and has also just begun hitting devices over-the-air. New versions of Xcode 5.1 beta and software for Apple TV are also available. The previous iOS 7.1 beta brought various, minor interface tweaks and new accessibility options. If you find anything new, you can let us know at tips@9to5mac....

What’s inside iOS 8.2? iOS 8.2 is packed full of updates, bug fixes and security fixes. Oh, and of course a new app which you won’t be able to remove – the Apple Watch. Specifically, the update includes improvements to the Health App, Stability enhancements for the Music, Mail and Maps apps and fairly significant bug fixes in the Mail, Maps and Calendar apps. Let’s take a deeper look at the details....

Last month, Apple announced changes to its iTunes Affiliate program, saying that the rates that users would receive per app sale would fall. While at the time, it was stated that the app affiliate rate would be slashed from 7 percent to 2.5 percent, it appears now that might not actually be the case… According to MacGamer HQ, Apple is reducing in-app iOS and Mac commission to 2.5 percent, but the rate for apps themselves, both iOS and Mac, will remain at 7 percent....