A planned update to LA Metro’s TAP payment system will see it support Apple Pay on both rail and bus networks. The upgrade – part of a larger program – is currently scheduled for the fall … MacRumors obtained the information via a public information request under California law. Curbed reported on an upcoming iOS/Android app a year ago that doesn’t seem to have hit its target date. Apple Pay support would enable commuters to hold a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch near a TAP card reader to pay their fare on buses and at turnstiles in subway stations throughout the TAP system....

Software update day is here again! Apple has released the fourth developer beta version of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 (likely alongside new seeds of watchOS 6, tvOS 13) today. Apple’s public beta builds should follow at a later date after the latest developer beta has been tested in the wild. Apple’s new software version won’t be complete until the fall, however, so testers should still expect performance and stability issues when running the iOS 13 beta on primary devices....

Apple has released iOS 7.0.2 over-the-air for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This is a bug fix release that focuses on rectifying an issue that could allow users to bypass the passcode unlock on the Lock screen. Another fix in this release is to re-add the Greek keyboard options for pass codes. iOS 7.0.2 brings iOS 7 parity across all supported devices. Alongside the launch of the new iPhones, Apple released iOS 7....

Apple today has released the third iOS 9.3 beta to registered developers for testing. The first iOS 9.3 beta introduced at the start of the year introduced new 3D Touch shortcuts on new iPhones, Touch ID-secured Notes, a new Night Shift mode for blue light reduction, and much more. iOS 9.3 beta 2 added a Night Shift toggle in Control Center and other tweaks. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below....

Following the official launch of the iPad mini 6 last Friday, Apple is today reminding developers to get their apps ready for the new iPad mini’s 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display. Due to the new size and resolution, some apps may not run in full screen until they are updated. According to a post on the Apple Developer website, most apps with Auto Layout enabled should work fine with the new iPad mini 6 display....

[Update: The auction closed on 6/18 at $30,500.] Apple has been a part of several fundraising auctions through Charitybuzz over the last few years, giving lunch meetings and event invites in exchange for generous donations to various non-profit efforts. The company’s latest campaign promises a bit of a golden ticket in Willy Wonka fashion as the highest bidder will be invited to tour Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino and bring 1 guest (or up to 3 kids if it’s a family visit)....

Apple has started offering its back-to-school promotion for eligible students and staff in Australia. Like its recent education promos, this “Back to Uni” deal offers free or discounted AirPods when buying select Mac and iPad models along with 20% off AppleCare+. Update: Apple’s promotion is showing up for more countries like Brazil, South Korea, and New Zealand. Apple shared details about the Back to Uni promo on its Australia Education Store homepage today....

As Apple is getting ready to release iOS 14.3 to the public in the coming days, and the company is now rolling out a new feature for Apple Music subscribers. Users running the latest iOS beta have noticed that there are now some albums available on Apple Music with animated artwork. The company had already added some animations to the featured playlist artworks on Apple Music during the iOS 14 development, but nothing had changed for the individual albums — at least for now....

Apple posted impressive Q3 results yesterday as well as announcing a 4-1 stock split. This morning with the market open, AAPL shares hit a new all-time high and now the company’s market value has briefly exceeded Saudi Aramco’s to become the world’s most valuable public company on its way to a $2 trillion market value. AAPL shares opened up over 6% this morning after the new record June quarter for the company, pushing them over $410 (at the time of writing), a new all-time high for the stock....

If you didn’t get a chance to buy a WWDC ticket in the lottery last week, you might just get another chance soon. Developers who won were given until April 14 to buy a slot at the conference, but not all of them took advantage of the opportunity. Now Apple is reportedly reaching out to developers who didn’t win the lottery and offering them a chance to buy unclaimed tickets. Some developers are starting to get phone calls from the company informing them that they have been randomly selected to buy one of the tickets that winners failed to claim before the 14th....

Apple iOS and tvOS 11.4 Messages in iCloud is a feature that was first introduced during last year’s WWDC. It allows you to keep track of your conversations across all your Apple devices like iPhone, iPad, Watch, and your Mac. You can now access your entire Messages history when you set up a new iOS device. Also, when you delete a message from one device, that change syncs to all your other Apple devices....

Apple has released iOS 12.1.1 for iPhone and iPad today with a handful of notable improvements. The latest software update includes improvements to FaceTime, Haptic Touch on iPhone XR, and more. tvOS 12.1.1, macOS Mojave 10.14.2, and HomePod 12.1.1 updates are also out today as Apple prepares the HomePod for its debut in China. For FaceTime users, iOS 12.1.1 includes an improved user interface that makes it much easier to switch between the front-facing and rear camera during calls....

Apple has released a new beta of iOS 13.5 today, containing the first version of its exposure notification API for COVID-19 contact tracing. The beta is available to developers now alongside the first beta release of Xcode 11.5. The Xcode release includes an updated version of the iOS SDK that incorporates the exposure notification API. Update: The second public beta of iOS 13.5 is also now available. In conjunction with this, Apple and Google representatives say that they are also releasing the first seeds of the exposure notification API to public health authority developers....

Apple has a new software update today just for Apple TV users. tvOS 14.0.2 is now rolling out with bug fixes and performance improvements, coming just under two weeks after tvOS 14.0.1 was released to the public. Notably, Apple does not publish detailed release notes for Apple TV software updates like it does for iOS, watchOS, and macOS. tvOS 14.0.1 was released almost two weeks ago, and Apple offered no details other than that the update made “general performance and stability improvements....

Apple is working on a new app that’s going to replace the Find My Friends and Find My iPhone apps. With codename “GreenTorch”, the app is currently being tested by engineers at the company. The new unified app includes an improved ability to find a user’s devices. Called “Find Network”, the feature allows devices to be tracked even when not connected to Wi-Fi or to a cellular network. Besides sharing their location with members of their family, users are also able to share their location with any friend....

[UPDATE: Apple’s Back To School program has now launched in China, as well.] Apple’s 2016 Back to School Beats kicked off in the United States at the beginning of the month and has today expanded internationally across Europe. Students in United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands and more can now take advantage of the summer promotion at Apple Stores in their country as well as online. Like the US, eligible purchases of certain Macs come with free Beats Solo2 wireless headphones worth $299 at retail....

. Mere weeks before the WWDC, Apple is still quiet on the Lodsys situation, leaving developers unsure of what to do in the patent trolling case. The silence is truly deafening. EFF sums up many of our thoughts on this: Apple clearly needs to take a stand on this one way or another. Even just a public statement saying, “we are working on this and will have an answer before the 30 days to respond to Lodsys time is up” would suffice....

iOS 13.3 for iPhone and iPadOS 13.3 for iPad The update for iPhone and iPad includes new Parental Controls features including Communication Limits in Screen Time. This lets you limit who and when and whom you’re kids can talk, text, and FaceTime with during certain hours. Parents have the option to block their kids from communicating with everyone except themselves after a set time of the day, for example. There are also improvements to the Apple News app which includes a new layout for Apple News+ stories from major newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal....