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Aquaman officially passes Suicide Squad at the worldwide box office, claiming the #3 spot on the DCEU franchise chart, right behind Wonder Woman. They tried to get rid of him, but now from ocean to ocean, they’re going to have to deal with him. So goes a lyric from the Pitbull song “Ocean to Ocean,” a track currently getting lots of attention after appearing on the Aquaman soundtrack. In a broader sense though, that sentiment could be applied to the public at large, which spent decades mostly making fun of Aquaman, and considering him a lame superhero....

Apple is developing iAds for video, developing a new product that will deliver in-stream ads to videos shown on the iPhone, iPad and (presumably) the Apple TV. These ads will appear both within apps, and on mobile websites. A report tells us Apple’s new ads network is expected to launch in the first half of next year, and it does seem to dovetail nicely with development of ways publishers of popular video on Apple’s networks could make some money for their work....

Just one day before Thanksgiving in the US and a month before Christmas, Apple has shared its annual holiday ad on YouTube. The video spans about a minute and a half, featuring legendary artist Stevie Wonder (a known Apple fan) performing with Andra Day, with various Apple products including MacBooks running GarageBand and Apple Watches in view. At the start of the video, Wonder, who has been blind since shortly after birth, uses OS X’s built-in VoiceOver accessibility features to mix a song in the audio editing software that comes with each Mac....

Apple has unveiled lots of HomePod details this morning including a new guide for how the smart speaker can be controlled with the top surface area. HomePod will be primarily driven by Siri, but tapping the top will support a number of gestures for playback control. The top surface area will respond to taps much like AirPods, but a number of gestures are supported and work similar to clicking playback controls on EarPods....

With the launch of the third generation iPhone SE, Apple has made some changes to introduce a streamlined purchase process for AT&T and T-Mobile customers. Users will now be able to send their personal data to the carriers when they first turn on the device, rather than having to wait for approval when ordering the new iPhone. Currently, when you buy a carrier-tied iPhone at an Apple Store (whether online or retail), you need to provide the last four digits of your Social Security Number and your phone number....

Apple is continuing to transition its three main retail outlets, its physical retail stores, online store, and main website, into a single experience. Following the deep integration of the Apple Online Store throughout Apple.com, Apple is set to integrate its appointment scheduling services for the Genius Bar and in-store workshops deeply into the main website, according to sources briefed on the plans. The latest indications are that Apple will roll out these significant retail changes as soon as Tuesday, August 25th....

With the COVID pandemic impacting production on pretty much all Hollywood projects, the second season release dates of Apple’s flagship shows (The Morning Show, For All Mankind, See, Servant, etcetera) have been pushed into 2021. To help plug the gap, Apple TV+ has acquired two Israeli series which it will stream exclusively. The first of these co-productions is called ‘Tehran’, a spy thriller from Moshe Zonder, the head writer of popular Netflix series ‘Fauda’....

The new Apple TV packs a lot more power than the previous generation, featuring an A10X Fusion chip to power 4K video playback and rich 3D App Store games. iFixit have got their hands on one of the new pucks and their teardown shows how Apple managed to achieve this substantial increase in performance: a large internal fan and eight vents to disperse heat … The internal fan is almost the same diameter as the width of the puck, stretching to all four edges inside the casing....

We’re now a week away from the first day of Apple Watch pre-order sales, and Apple has updated its online store to officially announce that orders will begin after 12:01 AM PT/3:01 AM ET on April 10th. The pre-order period will last two weeks (although stock likely won’t) while the Apple Watch will be available for preview at Apple Stores and select retailers. These retailers include Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Selfridges in London, and Isetan in Tokyo....

Mera, the Queen of the underwater nation known as Atlantis, made her comic book debut way back in 1963. She first appeared as an exiled queen from another dimension, but she grew to be an Aquaman staple. Just eleven issues after her comic book debut, Mera married Aquaman, and the two embarked on a rather rocky relationship. Though she debuted more than 50 years ago, 2018 marked a year of firsts for the character....

macOS 13 Ventura beta 4 is finally available to developers. After three since the third seed of this upcoming operating system for the Mac was released, Apple is making available a new build to developers to keep testing what’s next for the company’s computers. It’s also been a couple of weeks since the company released its public beta version and a revised version to developers. Today’s build is 22A5311f. macOS 13 Ventura’s main focus is on continuity features, such as the ability to start a FaceTime call on the Mac and seamlessly switch to the iPhone or iPad....

Update: Apple confirmed the use of China Telecom servers in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. Apple has begun using Chinese data centers to store iCloud data for local Apple customers, the first time Apple has used mainland China for iCloud account and information storage. On a municipal government website, Fuzhuo City Telecom said that ‘Apple China has completed the iCloud data dump into China Telecom’s cloud services’. The post has since been taken down from the government site, however....

From 9to5Toys.com: Apple quietly released an updated lineup of Retina MacBook Pros earlier this morning and as a result, previous generation (which, let’s be honest, aren’t a big step down) refurbished models have received notable price drops. At the low end, the October 2012 (first generation) 13-inch model has dropped $59, which has made it the first refurbished Retina MacBook Pro with a 1 year Apple warranty to dip below $1,000....

CNBC reports that Apple is suing chip supplier Qualcomm for roughly $1 billion over patent royalties: The latest development follows an FTC complaint alleging Qualcomm engaged in monopolistic practices to prevent Apple from sourcing key components from its competitors. The new report adds that Apple alleges Qualcomm withheld $1 billion in retaliation for working with South Korean authorities where Qualcomm was recently found to be engaging in anti-competitive behavior. Apple relied on Qualcomm modems in iPhones and iPads up until the iPhone 7 which added Intel as a supplier in certain models....

OregonLive notes that government filings from last week show Apple has taken over a hydroelectric project near its Oregon data center. Apple has previously reported that it powers its data centers entirely on renewable energy. The hydroelectric plant in Oregon will help maintain its 100% renewable energy rating. In fact, on Apple’s environmental website, the company notes that the Prineville site will source power from hydroelectric energy in addition to wind and solar....

Following the depositions of former Apple head of software engineering Scott Forstall in the Epic vs. Apple case, we’ve come to learn some interesting details about the early days of the iPhone and the App Store. Now Forstall has revealed that Apple once considered letting Adobe bring Flash to iOS, but the results were “embarrassing.” iPhone and iPod touch never supported Flash, which was a really popular technology at that time....

Apple has announced a new deal with Peanuts Worldwide and Lee Mendelson Film Productions to bring new originals and classic Peanuts specials to Apple TV+. Starting this month, Apple TV+ users will be able to stream iconic Peanuts content throughout the upcoming holiday season. Apple explains that the deal includes a second season of the Apple TV+ original series Snoopy in Space as well as a handful of new original specials including ones for Mother’s Day, Earth Day, New Year’s Eve, and going back to school....

As if Disney+ weren’t enough, there will be another Apple TV+ competitor from next April, in the form of NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service, Peacock … We first learned back in January that the new service was on the way, though little was known then. The company shared in July that The Office would be exclusive to the service once the Netflix deal expires, and we’ve today learned a lot more – including the name of the service, after the network’s mascot....

Apple has just released an update to the 2nd generation Apple TV — version 4.4.2 (9A336a). We’re not sure if the update features anything besides bug fixes, but we’re downloading to see. Let us know what you’re getting in the comments below. Apple’s last update to the Apple TV, version 4.4.1, was pulled at first but then reintroduced. The update brought bug fixes, and we suspect that 4.4.2 does the same....

Apple just reported earnings — and as ever the company does not break out unit sales of Apple Watch. However, Apple’s wearables business, which includes Apple Watch and AirPods, continues to be strong. Apple told the FT that wearables revenue is up 60 percent year-over-year. Luca Maestri said that wearables saw 60 percent growth in revenue terms. Adding up the last four quarters, wearables revenue now exceeds $10 billion: This is a more specific number than what Apple declares in its financial statements....