Today, Instagram's Explore tab will start showing some users a bar of Stories from accounts they could follow, TechCrunch reported yesterday, saying these algorithmically personalized suggestions will roll out to everyone soon. Stories recommendations are based on who you follow and the topics you care about, making it easy to add someone new to your Home feed’s Stories section.
Tuesday, Papa John's launched a brand new application allowing owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV to order pizza from the comfort of their couch, straight from their Apple TV. In becoming the first restaurant to bring food ordering to the Apple TV, Papa John's said that all orders placed using the new app will have an automatic 25 percent discount applied to them. Users must sign into their existing Papa John's account to automatically provide payment information and access their favorite meals.
Japanese blog Mac Otakara was first to report that Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 refresh would include a Space Black Apple Watch-like darker color option replacing the existing Space Gray colorway. Tuesday, Mac Otakara published a pair of photos purportedly showing a claimed iPhone 7 SIM tray in Darth Vader-like glossy black finish said to resemble the exterior of the 2013 Mac Pro. Sources told Mac Otakara that the next iPhone would come in a total of five color choices.
The European Commission has ruled that Apple is on the hook for €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in back taxes as its “sweetheart deal” to pay a lower tax rate in Ireland has been characterized as “illegal state aid”.
Apple is going to appeal the ruling and now CEO Tim Cook has penned an open letter, entitled “A Message to the Apple Community in Europe,” in which he explains Apple's position in this case, writing he is “confident” that the huge tax bill will be reversed.
At a press conference Tuesday, the European Commission's competition commissioner Margarethe Vestager announced that the European Union has ordered the government of Ireland to collect up to €13 billion, or about $14.5 billion, in back taxes from Apple. The sum represents Europe’s largest tax penalty and a significant increase over the 1 billion figure floated around ahead of the ruling.
Apple will appeal the decision.
Apple is working on several upgrades to its Mac product line, reports Bloomberg. Citing sources familiar with the company's plans, the outlet says the refreshed hardware includes new versions of the iMac, MacBook Air, and the oft-rumored MacBook Pro.
Also in the pipeline is a new 5K standalone monitor. Apple, of course, discontinued its Thunderbolt Display earlier this year, after years without an update. This time around, Bloomberg says the Cupertino firm is collaborating with LG to build its monitor.
Seven days following the release of a seventh beta of macOS Sierra, Apple today seeded an eighth beta of the upcoming software to its registered developers and public beta testers. Both macOS Sierra beta 7 for members of the Apple Developer Program and macOS Sierra beta 7 for members of the Apple Beta Software Program are now available through the Mac App Store on computers with an appropriate configuration profile and as standalone downloads on Dev Center.
According to a 130-page judgment seen by The Financial Times, the European Commission (EC) is set to rule Tuesday against Apple's sweetheart tax deal it struck with the government of Ireland back in 1999.
The Commission is reportedly set to demand that Ireland recoup over 1 billion euros in back taxes from the iPhone maker, or circa $1.12 billion.
“Apple will on Tuesday be hit with Europe’s largest tax penalty after Brussels ruled that the company received illegal state aid from Ireland,” warns the financial newspaper.
Siri giving witty responses ahead of major Apple events has become something of a tradition for Apple and part of the festivities by its eager fans. The just-announced September 7 iPhone 7 press conference is no exception. Thanks to a silent backend update, Siri now serves up a variety of amusing responses when asked about the iPhone 7 event.
Best thing you check them out for yourself.
Verizon, the nation's leading telecommunications company, today said that mobile users in 461 cities across the United States now get fifty percent faster peak wireless data speeds thanks to LTE Advanced, the next generation of wireless technology.
A major enhancement of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, LTE Advanced uses existing cell towers and a software technique called carrier aggregation which combines multiple channels to transfer data more quickly than with LTE.
See you on the 7th, reads the invite that Apple sent to the media on Monday morning. Held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the event will of course be focused on the new iPhone 7, but will also likely see a new Apple Watch 2 unveiled, and possibly a new MacBook Pro.
Journalist Steven Levy's excellent in-depth look at Apple's machine learning and artificial intelligence systems used throughout iOS and its other products have left some people wondering about transferring the so-called iBrain database to a new device. Apple told Levy that iBrain is local to a device and doesn't get sent to the cloud.
The explanation promoted some people to wonder if that means that iBrain has to start all over again after getting a new phone, and lose all memory of what it learned in the process. As it turns out, some of the information in that “brain” can indeed be restored and moved to a new device in a safe manner.