Apple

Apple pushes tvOS 10.1 beta 4 for developer testing

Two weeks after tvOS 10.1 beta 3, more than three weeks following beta 2 and more than a month since beta 1, Apple on Wednesday seeded a fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 10.1 update to developers enrolled in the Apple Developer Program.

tvOS 10.1 beta 4 (build 14U588) is available as an over-the-air download on Apple TVs with a prior beta and an appropriate configuration profile installed.

DirecTV NOW launches on iPhone, iPad & Apple TV

Two days ago, U.S. wireless carrier unveiled DirecTV NOW, its brand new Internet television streaming service that comes with a free fourth-generation Apple TV for those who would commit to at least three months of paid service.

Today, DirectTV apps for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV have gone live in the App Store.

Cook: AirPods shipping over the “next few weeks”

We were originally promised the AirPods in “late October” before Apple delayed launch because, as the company explained in a statement, “we don’t believe in shipping a product before it’s ready.” Since then, multiple sources reported conflicting availability information pertaining to the product, ranging from end of November to year-end to January 2017.

According to an alleged reply that a MacRumors reader received after emailing Tim Cook, Apple's first Bluetooth earphones with an in-house designed W1 wireless chip will be shipping to customers over the next few weeks.

Netflix launches offline viewing in mobile app

Following reports back in the summer that offline viewing would be coming to Netflix “by the end of the year,” the company said that it's starting to roll the feature to users around the world beginning today. A new Download button appears in the mobile Netflix app on select shows that can be watched without an Internet connection, including popular shows like “Narcos,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Stranger Things” and “The Crown”. Offline support for more shows will be added over time, said the firm.

Apple to honor World AIDS Day with (PRODUCT)RED lineup, games & more

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day and Apple said this morning that customers can support the fight against this life-threatening, incurable disease by downloading games with limited-edition, custom (RED) content, donating money to the cause through iTunes, shopping for a lineup of (PRODUCT)RED products and accessories, listening to an exclusive (RED) holiday album from The Killers and more.

Apple is the world’s largest corporate contributor to the Global Fund, and this year marks its 10th anniversary supporting (RED) in the fight to end AIDS.

Apple Music student pricing now available in over 30 countries

Apple on Tuesday began offering student pricing for its streaming music service in 25 new countries, reports MacRumors. This brings the total number of regions where students can get a significant discount on Apple Music to 32.

The new countries include major markets like China and India, as well as Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

Apple announces December 23-27 iTunes Connect holiday shutdown

Apple on Tuesday announced that its annual holiday shutdown of iTunes Connect will be taking place between December 23 and December 27, 2016. iTunes Connect is a service developers and iTunes partners use to submit their apps and other content to Apple's content stores. In other words, no new apps or app updates shall surface on the App Store and Mac App Store between December 23-27.

iTunes carrier billing now available to customers in Norway and Belgium

Following a recent introduction of iTunes carrier billing in Japan, Taiwan and Switzerland, this useful feature is now available to customers in Norway and Belgium, as first noted by MacRumors on Tuesday.

With carrier billing, customers can buy media on the iTunes Store, subscribe to Apple Music and purchase apps on the App Store without a credit or debit card because purchases are added to a customer’s mobile phone bill from their carrier.

Google just released a stellar screensaver for your Mac

Got tired of the new Apple TV's gorgeous Aerial screen saver on your Mac? How about Google's own screen saver that ships on Chromecast, Fiber and Pixel devices? Your wish is Google's command: yesterday, the search giant released the stunning Featured Photos screen saver for macOS.

As its name suggests, the app adorns your Mac's built-in display and any external screens with a striking plethora of highest-rated photographs that users publicly posted on Google+. Download the app straight from Google at no charge and let us know what you think in the comments.

FDA emails reaffirm Apple may be developing a pair of cardiac monitoring devices

Thanks to a recent Freedom of Information Act filing, we now know that Apple is still interested in developing a pair of FDA-regulated devices dedicated to cardiac monitoring.

This was revealed in a recent email exchange between officials at Apple and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which was obtained Tuesday by Mobihealthnews.

Economic Daily News reported on Apple's alleged interest in the creation of two health-tracking hardware products back in August. According to that report, the devices—one of which described as a “killer” gadget—should release some time in 2017.

“Siri, what do my pets do when I’m not home?”

It seems Apple has partnered with Universal Pictures to promote “The Secret Life of Pets” by updating Siri's backend with a bunch of responses related to the animated movie. The company's official iTunes USA Facebook page promotes Siri partnership with a nicely done teaser video.

We also spotted a dedicated “Siri, what do my pets do when I'm not home?” banner which briefly appeared in the iTunes Movies app on the Apple TV.