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Following its onslaught of music updates this morning, Apple this evening has rolled out updates to two more of its Mac audio apps. First is Logic Pro X, which has been bumped to version 10.2.1 with this evening’s update. Next is MainStage 3, which is now at version 3.2.3 thanks to its most recent update. Both apps have received a handful of new features, under-the-hood changes, and performance improvements with their respective updates....

As our friends at 9to5Toys highlighted, yesterday marked Alibaba’s “Singles Day” shopping event. For those unfamiliar, Singles Day is similar to “Black Friday” in the United States, spearheaded by Alibaba’s 11.11 shopping event. Following yesterday’s celebration, Alibaba today has released figures on the popularity of specific brands during its 11.11 shopping event, and Apple comes in at the top. As reported by CNBC, Apple was the top-selling mobile phone brand during Singles Day....

[Update 10/27: Apple Pay through American Express in Canada and Australia coming this year; Spain, Singapore, and Hong Kong next year.] Apple Watch may have first launched all the way back in April, but the roll out in more countries around the world is still taking place. Availability for India now appears to have an official date with Apple’s website confirming a release scheduled for early next month on November 6th....

Have an Apple Watch Series 3 with a cracked screen? The repair may be covered under an ongoing service program. Follow along for how to check Apple Watch free screen replacement eligibility. In 2019, Apple first announced its screen replacement program for Series 2 and Series 3 Apple Watches that have specific screen damage to receive a replacement at no cost. Since then, coverage for Series 2 models has lapsed, but the program still offers free screen replacements for eligible Series 3 aluminum watches until roughly September 2022....

Back in 2014, the WebKit team at Apple released Speedometer, which it touted as “a benchmark for web app responsiveness.” Almost four years later, Apple today has announced Speedometer 2.0 with numerous improvements for developers… For those unfamiliar, Speedometer allows developers to simulate user interactions in web apps and has been used “as a proxy for real-world use of popular frameworks for a number of years.” Apple notes, however, that the web developer world has changed a lot since Speedometer 1....

Tyrese Gibson’s Mayhem is the first digital book for sale on iTunes 9, and its being sold in the extended multimedia format, iTunes LP/iTunes Extras. Mayhem’s comic iTunes LP ($1.99) is the first comic book to explore the format as a form of highly visual creative expression. Its introduction makes it easy to see the potential of book or magazine sales through iTunes. And, let’s face it, it’s built for handheld devices and, we think, the fabled Apple tablet (October?...

While Google+ got the most notable update earlier this afternoon, there are three other nice little updates to apps this evening. Most notably, Instapaper was updated to version 4.2, which adds an iBook style “pagination” feature. Other key features include: All-new Fast Pagination mode, a complete rewrite from the old pagination code that greatly improves accuracy and page-turn speed New draggable dot bar to replace the scroll bar in pagination mode New two-finger-swipe gesture to close an article Full-screen now has “Auto” mode to switch to full screen after a few seconds The subtle Twilight Sepia color tint can now be selected at any time Added sharing to Drafts and the upcoming Quotebook 2....

Earlier this week, Apple received FCC clearance with a new sleep monitor product that looked like an updated version of the Beddit Sleep Monitor that it acquired in 2017. Today the updated Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5 (replacing version 3.0) is now available through the Apple Store. The new Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5 retails for $149.95 and is currently available in Apple Stores and ships to customers in a few days. Withings (formerly Nokia Health) has a similar product that retails for $99 and currently sells for $79....

With the Mac OS X 10.7.2 update released earlier today, Apple has also updated Safari to version 5.1.1. On top of the obvious iCloud support, Apple just posted this support document claiming the new version is 13 percent faster in Javascript performance. Definitely a welcomed performance boost. Of course version 5.1.1 also includes the a number of fixes and overall stability improvements. You can check out everything included in the update in the support document after the break....

The year 2021 is shaping up to be massive for the Mac. Apple began the transition to Apple Silicon processors in the Mac last year with a new Mac mini, a new 13-inch MacBook Pro, and a new MacBook Air. Things are expected to gain more traction this year, with the rumor mill currently suggesting the first iMac redesign in a decade, new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, and much more....

Apple is preparing to take some pages out of the traditional jewelry store playbook. For the upcoming 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, Apple is planning several new features for its retail stores to support the device. As we reported several months ago, Apple is planning on allowing customers to actually try on the watches and test out different band styles inside of stores. With the high-expected price tag of the gold watch models, Apple will also step up its security features for stores…...

Last month, ABC announced that it was teaming up with Apple for help producing American Idol from home amid COVID-19. In a new statement today, Apple touts the flexibility and “broadcast quality” video offered by the iPhone for these situations. TechCrunch has more details on the rig ABC has provided to American Idol contestants and hosts, which includes three iPhone 11 Pros, a tripod, and a ring light: Of course, this is a much more complex system than most people need, but it’s interesting to see the broadcast production approach applied to the iPhone ecosystem....

Get a Subscription Apple TV+ is priced at $4.99 per month (after a 7-day free trial) for a family. However, a free one-year subscription comes with any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac that was purchased after Sept. 10, 2019, from Apple or an Apple authorized reseller. A Year For Free To activate your free subscription, make sure the latest software version is installed on your qualifying device. From there:...

Apple is announcing a trio of updates to the App Store Guidelines today that focuses on giving developers more flexibility for communicating with their customers. One of the changes specifically comes to address Apple’s settlement in a class-action lawsuit from small developers in the US, first announced back in August. As background, Apple promised a handful of small App Store changes back in August as part of its settlement with small developers in the United States....

MacStories noted that Apple began changing the tiers at which apps are priced on the iTunes App Store for several countries in Europe. The lowest price on the App Store for many of the countries (listed below) was once €0.79, but it has been bumped up to €0.89 this evening. Italy Spain Netherlands Portugal Greece Poland Germany France Belgium Austria Czech Republic Denmark Luxembourg Hungary Russia [tweet https://twitter.com/dannysapples/status/261602982859255808] The report further noted that Apple might have raised its commission levels to 40 percent—when it was once 30 percent (countries, like the U....

The day after Apple officially launched CarPlay, allowing iPhone functionality to be accessed via in-car screen systems, Apple’s VP of iPhone and iOS product marketing is at the Geneva Motor Show to help launch Carplay in the Ferrari FF. Swiss site MacPrime brought us photos of the launch … The Ferrari FF is the company’s first ever four-wheel drive production model, and is described by the company as the world’s fastest four-seat car, with a top speed of 208mph and a 0-62mph time of 3....

While this year marks the first time Apple Watch has been on the market for a full 12 months, one analyst believes year-over-year sales will be down and not higher. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has issued a report that says new Apple Watch shipments have decreased by 15-25% which affects the firm’s annual sales prediction. The report notes that KGI cites four reasons for relatively limited interest in Apple Watch: no clear killer app, poor battery life, dependence on iPhone, and the experience multi-touch offers on a wearable....

Apple has long been known to extravagantly deck out its own retail stores with eye-catching window displays featuring flagship products at key times, and unsurprisingly it’s treating the 24 window displays that wrap around Selfridges’ high-end retail store in London just the same. Profiled today by Wallpaper.com, the massive display of detailed floral shots easily catches the attention of window shoppers to advertise the Apple Watch. The profile also shows previous themes used by Apple to advertise the Apple Watch’s availability at the high-end retailer and includes some interesting details about the display as well:...

Apple Watch users will soon be able to share heart rate data with Orangetheory Fitness machines without using a separate dedicated heart rate monitor. The popular fitness club unveiled its new OTbeat Link accessory today for using the Apple Watch to track heart rate data during workouts. The new OTbeat Link accessory will be available to purchase for $129 sometime during the first quarter of 2020, according to the announcement today, and will work with a new Orangetheory app for the Apple Watch....

A few notable apps and updates landed in the App Store today including a significant update to the Hulu Plus iOS app, Retina optimizations for the Time Warner Cable app, and the official Men In Black 3 game from Gameloft. A full list of noteworthy app releases and updates from today is below: Hulu Plus: The most significant app update today goes to the universal Hulu Plus iOS app. The new update brings a number of improvements, including: a “re-engineered, optimized video player”, support for the new iPad’s Retina display, and enhancements to AirPlay mirroring, and HDMI support....