Apple issued a statement this afternoon from Senior Vice President Eddy Cue regarding its new U2 album promotion. Cue says that over 33 million iTunes account holders have accessed "Songs of Innocence" since the promo launched last week.
Mr. Cue called the number "record-breaking," but didn't elaborate. He did, however, note that the figure includes customers who downloaded the album from their iCloud account, streamed it, or listened to it in iTunes Radio's First Play channel.
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced this afternoon that he's sent a letter to Tim Cook regarding the new Apple Watch and user privacy. Jepsen wants Cook to explain what data the device will collect, how that data will be stored, and what Apple's policies are on apps that access health information.
Specifically, Jepsen asks whether Apple will allow consumers to store personal/health info on its servers, and if so. how will that information be safeguarded. He also wants to know what kind of data Apple Watch will collect from users, and how it and its developers plan to obtain consent for this collection from users.
Nearly two weeks after releasing the last beta, Apple has today seeded Developer Preview 8 of OS X Yosemite. The update, version 8 1.0, is available for download to users currently running DP 7 in the Mac App Store, as well as in Apple’s online developer center.
Additionally, Apple has released Public Beta 3 for OS X Yosemite. The Public Beta program began in July, and received its second update late last month. If you're a member of the program, you can find today's release in the 'Updates' tab of the Mac App Store.
Security research firm Palo Alto Networks reported this weekend about a new iOS malware that's affecting jailbroken devices. It's called 'AppBuyer,' and it's programmed to steal a user's Apple ID and password for the purpose of purchasing apps from the App Store.
It's not clear exactly how AppBuyer is being installed, but the group says it could be done a number of ways including through a malicious Cydia Substrate tweak or PC jailbreaking utility. Those infected complain of random apps periodically popping up on their devices.
Samsung began airing a new TV spot this weekend for the Galaxy Note 4—its new flagship handset that begins shipping next month. Like most of the company's recent ads, this one goes after Apple, with a specific focus on its just-announced iPhone 6 Plus.
Titled "Then and Now," the commercial points out that while Apple prepares to begin selling its first handset with a display over 5 inches, Samsung has been doing it for years with its Galaxy Note line. It essentially calls the iPhone 6 Plus a Note imitation.
The high-end version of the new Apple Watch could cost over $1,000, according to TechCrunch. The website has spoken to experts within the jewelry industry who say that if the 18-karat gold 'Edition' version of the Watch is actually made of gold, it could sell for as much as $1,200.
It's not clear if the entire case is made of gold, or the device is just gold-plated, but TC's contacts say it's more likely the former. For one, an all-gold case matches up with the size and weight provided for the watch, and two, gold-plating doesn't really live up to Apple's design standards.
Before raising its latest $100 million in funding, Square was in talks with Apple regarding a possible acquisition, reports TechCrunch this afternoon. The outlet says that the two companies held discussions briefly, but the conversation quickly ended when their final numbers didn't match up.
Apparently Apple was willing to pay around $3 billion for the mobile payments company, about 30% over its value. TechCrunch even claims that the Cupertino firm showed Square hardware it was working on that would compete directly with its point-of-sale tools, but the company declined.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is making the media rounds this week, following his company's big product unveiling event on Tuesday. He's spoken with ABC, The Wall Street Journal and several other outlets, and today he has popped up in an interview on PBS' The Charlie Rose Show.
It's a two-part interview, with the first segment airing today, and PBS has just posted a handful of clips from the conversation to YouTube. In them, Cook talks to Charlie about a wide range of topics, including Steve Jobs, Apple's Beats acquisition, and its future plans for TV.
Apple has negotiated a never-before-seen deal for its new mobile payment system, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Citing sources familiar with the terms of the agreement, the outlet says that the Cupertino firm stands to make 15 cents of every $100 spent (or 0.15%) using Apple Pay.
We knew that Apple stood to make a lot of money from its new Pay service, but this is the first time we're hearing hard numbers. "It's unprecedented," says Dickson Chu, former engineer at PayPal and Google Wallet. "It’s somewhat surprising that Apple was able to negotiate something Google couldn’t.”
Following their unveilings on Tuesday, Apple has made both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus available for online pre-order. I want to be up front and say that I have not seen the online store (website) come back up yet, but myself and a number of readers/colleagues have managed to place orders through other avenues.
It seems like people are having the most success with the Apple Store app. It takes some patience, and maybe even a few tries, but that's how I placed my order, and was able to opt for in-store pickup. Otherwise, you can try your carrier's website—I see some folks on Twitter have had luck ordering with AT&T and Verizon.
Apple has just taken its online store down, ahead of the pre-order launch for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Beginning at 12:01 am Pacific Time, or 3:01 am Eastern Time tomorrow, customers will be able to place pre-orders for both of the handsets.
Apple unveiled the 6 and 6 Plus at a major media event on Tuesday, announcing that both models have bigger screens than any other iPhone before them. The iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch display, and the iPhone 6 Plus has a larger 5.5-inch display.
Future versions of the Apple Watch will focus more on health-related tracking, reports Reuters this afternoon. Citing people familiar with the company's project, the outlet says that it plans to include "richer health features and additional sensors" in later generation models.
This would certainly appease those in the healthcare industry, and fitness junkies, who expected Apple to unveil a smartwatch earlier this week with groundbreaking health features. Instead, it merely tracks your heart rate, and movements via an iPhone's Wi-Fi and GPS.