Apple awarded patent for Beats Mixr over-ear headphone design

Tuesday, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded Apple a new patent grant which covers the overall design of the Beats Mixr over-ear headphone.

As you know, the Cupertino company acquired Beats, the audio hardware maker and the streaming-music provider, back in 2014 in a transaction valued at $3 billion.

Officially titled “Audio listening system”, the patent covers the ornamental design for an audio listening system. As shown and described, it specifically details a design feature allowing users to rotate each driver up and behind their ear, a prominent feature valued mostly by DJs.

Tim Cook ‘bullish on Apple Pay’ in China, in talks with Alibaba

Amid rumors, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged in an interview with Xinhua news agency on Monday that Apple is working to bring Apple Pay to China.

Cook told the Chinese news agency: "We very much want to get Apple Pay in China. I'm very bullish on Apple Pay in China," signaling the company is working quick to bring its new mobile payments service to another region besides the US.

Warner Music Group: Streaming music revenue now outweighs downloads

Tucked away in its earnings release on Monday, major music-player Warner Music Group announced that revenue from streaming surpassed revenue from downloads for the first time. This signals a major turn in the industry, as an old school player is finally revealing it may be comfortable, and on board, with the shift in how customers consume music.

Apple seeds iOS 8.4 beta 3 to developers, beta 2 to public testers

Apple seeded iOS 8.4 beta 3 to developers this morning. The build number is 12H4098c, and it can be downloaded over-the-air by folks running beta 2, or via Apple's developer portal. Additionally, Apple has released iOS 8.4 beta 2 to testers part in the public beta program.

The release comes two weeks after iOS 8.4 beta 2 posted, and roughly a month after the original. The timing is also interesting because Apple's World Wide Developer Conference, where it is expected to introduce the next major version of iOS (iOS 9) is just 3 weeks away.

iOS 8.4 to bring textbooks and iPad-only iBooks to iPhone

When it's released ahead, during or after next month's WWDC, iOS 8.4 should at last make it possible to enjoy digital textbooks on your iPhone. Although Apple makes no mention of this feature in the official release notes accompanying today's release of iOS 8.4 beta 3, Teddy Svoronos noted it on Twitter.

If true, this is a pretty big deal. In iOS 8.4 beta 3, any publication created with Apple's free iBooks Author app, not just digital textbooks, is reportedly viewable on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus along with their video content, Study Cards, the glossary, highlights and linked online content.

OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 beta 3 now available to public beta testers and developers

In addition to seeding iOS 8.4 beta 3 to its registered developers, Apple this morning also released OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 beta 3 to public beta testers and developers. The pre-release software carries a build number of 14E17e and should be released ahead of WWDC in June, alongside iOS 8.4 which includes an all-new Music app and other new features.

According to release notes, Apple is asking public beta testers and developers to focus on any issues with the stock Photos app, Migration Assistant as well as Arabic and Hebrew localization.

Selfiest for iPhone is a social network that pits you against other selfie-takers

Sharing a bunch of selfies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is so yesterday. What you need is a system that will motivate you to create meme-worthy selfies, award your best work and connect you to like-minded selfie takers.

Enter Selfiest, a new selfie challenge app for your iPhone by Snob Technologies that lets you discover and follow selfie takers around your current location, check out new selfies your friends post to the service and more.

ON Charge magnetic wireless charging solution for iPhone launches on Kickstarter

Don't you wish your iPhone had wireless charging like the Apple Watch does? I didn't think wireless charging would be a thing for me until my Apple Watch and its inductive charger landed on my desk. I now want this technology on my iPhone but until Apple delivers a wireless charging solution of its own, we'll have to make do with third-party accessories.

Today, I want to talk about the ON Charger battery and the ON Case for your iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus which recently launched on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. Both the charging base and the case feature a cool magnet assisted design making them cross-compatible with multiple smartphone brands.

Tim Cook creates account on China’s popular microblogging service Weibo

During his current visit to Beijing to announce new environmental initiatives, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has opened an account on Weibo, China's popular micro-blogging platform resembling Twitter.

The company's newly-announced environmental initiatives in China are the topic of Cook's first post. “Hello China! Happy to be back in Beijing, announcing innovative new environmental programs,” his Weibo post reads.

The message is accompanied by a Chinese translation. Cook's Weibo presence is verified and the account had nearly 400,000 followers at post time.

Rumor: 12.9-inch iPad Pro debuting in 2016 with force sensing nanowire touchscreen

Apple's rumored 12.9-inch iPad, informally dubbed the ‘iPad Pro,’ should use a new screen technology which should deliver a more responsive, more sensitive touch performance while being cheaper to mass-produce, according to a report Monday by ETNews.

Apparently, the company is planning to replace ITO-based clear film used on current iPads with a new silver nanowire (AgNW) panel. The report pegs a nanowire-based iPad Pro for 2016 instead of late 2015.

This exceptionally clear material should improve sense of touch, enable force sensing and decrease cost as it doesn’t require rare materials such as indium and the screens could be assembled by removing one post-cell process.

Apple to expand key Irish operation as demand for products grows

Apple is considering a major expansion of its key Irish operation just months after completing a massive €300 million (about $335 million) development in the country, according to Independent.ie Monday.

Already employing more than 4,000 people in Ireland and its Cork plant in Hollyhill, the latest expansion should deliver a multi-million euro boost to the move.