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According to a report from the The Economic Times, Apple is planning to set up a distribution center in India. The move comes as Apple is working to establish a retail presence in the country and has faced challenges due to local regulations. This evening’s report claims that Apple will work with its global logistics partner, DB Schenker, who will set up and operate the center. The goal of the distribution center in India is to ensure that Apple’s products are “rarely sold out at the retail level” and to set “common pricing for offline and online sales,” thus giving Apple greater control of the supply chain in the country....

Apple today has released its 12th annual Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, detailing the work the company is doing in improving conditions at supplier facilities. Apple touts that 15 million supplier employees have now been trained on their rights, including 3 million just last year. The report, however, also offers color on some of the issues Apple still faces in its supply chain… Apple audited 756 suppliers in 30 countries as part of its progress report, with 197 of those suppliers being brand new and audited for the first time....

Apple is continuing its release of iPhone X ads today with a new video focused on using Face ID to quickly make purchases with Apple Pay. The whimsical new ad highlights how Face ID and Apple Pay makes impulse purchases even easier… Throughout the ad, the iPhone X user travels through various stands at an outdoor market, using Apple Pay to buy a hat, a new suit, and much more. While you don’t see the Apple Pay checkout process every time, you do here the incredibly satisfying sound effect from the Face ID authentication process....

A new report from Bloomberg goes into detail about how relations between Apple and Qualcomm soured so quickly, after years of collaboration, featuring quotes from Qualcomm executives and excerpts from a new interview with Apple SVP Bruce Sewell. Sewell points out that the Qualcomm modem inside an iPhone costs Apple about $18. In addition, Apple has to pay 5 percent of the phone’s sale price. It is that royalty that Apple deems exorbitant and unfair....

The schedule for WWDC 2017 has just been announced and includes a new ‘Podcast Studio’. From Tuesday, podcasters will be able to reserve one hour slots and record in a specially-made recording studio inside the McEnery Convention Center. Apple says that the ‘fully outfitted studio’ allows for the creation of audio podcasts with up to four guests per show. Apple experts are on hand to provide support and podcasters are given a copy of their session to distribute freely how they see fit....

Apple is ready to launch its own streaming platform, Apple TV+, and here’s every TV show users will be able to enjoy at launch. The streaming wars are only getting started, with various networks and companies launching their own subscription services – Netflix is definitely not the only option to watch films and TV shows from the comfort of your home anymore. What’s interesting about all the streaming options (and, sometimes, what makes it hard to choose) is that they all offer different content and some are more affordable than others....

I know what you may be thinking: why would you spend any significant amount of money on a gold Apple Watch? Well, this isn’t an Apple Watch Edition, but it’s the closest thing available to my wallet. This Apple Watch and Link Bracelet was beautifully plated with 18K gold and it looks stunning. I’m not even a fan of gold, but I can definitely appreciate the beauty here. This is just about as classy as it gets if you’re into the style....

The latest IDC data on the wearables market suggests that Apple Watch sales are enjoying modest growth, up from an estimated 3.6M units in Q2 to 3.9M in Q3. This growth is mainly due to Apple taking the Watch into new markets, it says, though September’s introduction of modest discounts along with gold and rose gold Sport models is also likely to have helped. However, while Apple has emerged as the undisputed market leader in smartwatches, Fitbit has retained the top slot in the overall wearables sector....

For just two weeks, lifetime access to Babbel is dropping to $199 (Reg. $499) Samsung’s latest Frame 2022 TVs at new lows from $740 Across the board, Samsung’s new iteration of Frame TVs sport 4K HDR QLED panels with 120Hz refresh rates much the same as before, but with a new Matte Display anti-glare screen. That helps enable the unique design that blends in amongst the rest of your home decor and can even double as a digital picture frame for both personal photos and gallery-quality artwork....

Apple’s Education announcement is later today at the Guggenheim in New York City and we will be covering it live. We have so far heard that it is education related and Apple’s iWork lead Roger Rosner is involved in what seems to be textbook creation and distribution tools. Moreover, leading textbook publisher McGraw Hill will be involved, according to various reports. Long time Apple watcher Jason O’Grady from ZDNet said he heard that some software is on tap today including Pages ’12 with support for publishing to iBookStore, an iBooks 2 app that will also work on Macs with Lion and Textbook rentals....

As we first discovered in the iOS software code a year ago, Apple is finally ready to implement Bluetooth in its Apple TV products. The latest Apple TV beta not only has a new Bluetooth menu but you can pair wireless keyboards to both the second- and third-gen Apple TV. Once connected, you can use a wireless keyboard to completely control the Apple TV without using the included remote. The arrow keys function for navigation, the Return key is the play/pause, and the Escape key maps to ‘menu’ or up ‘one level’ functionality....

Ahead of a BBC special exploring work conditions in Apple’s supply chain airing tonight (update: video embedded below), BBC.com today published a story revealing the results of its investigation. The news outlet went undercover into Apple’s supply chain and claims “Apple’s promises to protect workers were routinely broken” while citing a number of workplace violations: It found standards on workers’ hours, ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers were being breached at the Pegatron factories…Exhausted workers were filmed falling asleep on their 12-hour shifts at the Pegatron factories on the outskirts of Shanghai… One undercover reporter, working in a factory making parts for Apple computers, had to work 18 days in a row despite repeated requests for a day off....

Apple has today added a new guideline to the App Store Review Guidelines, the first clause specifically targeted at Apple Watch development. This rule that Watch apps that only tell time will be rejected has actually been enforced since Apple started accepting WatchKit submissions as many developers complained to find their apps had been rejected for this reason. The documentation change now formalizes this rule into an official policy. The Apple Watch does not currently allow third-parties to create custom watch faces....

A couple of weeks since the second beta of tvOS 16 was released, Apple is now seeding its third version. Although the company almost forgot about the Apple TV operating system during the WWDC 2022 keynote, there are some features users should be excited about when it launches later this fall. Today’s build is 20J5328g. Different from the other betas, developers need to download the tvOS 16 testing version through Xcode....

As is tradition, Apple will be shutting down App Store Connect for the holidays in December. This year sees the same dates as past years for downtime that developers will want to plan app submissions around. Like previous years, Apple will be shutting down App Store Connect during the week of Christmas from December 23-27. Apple shared the news on its developer site today: Apple Store Black Friday: get up to $150 gift card with purchase of iPhone, iPad, Mac and more Best Black Friday Apple Deals: AirPods with Qi Case $150, Apple TV deals from $122, more Apple unveils holiday gift guide featuring iPhone 12 and more, opens holiday return window The busiest season on the App Store is almost here....

The National Labor Relations Board has certified the union election for Apple Store employees in Maryland. This certification comes 10 days after the Towson store became the first Apple retail location in the United States to vote to unionize. The Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE) has voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). However, the group will now be IAM-CORE and allows Apple managers to negotiate a first contract....

We are getting reports that Apple Stores are receiving packages that aren’t to be opened until Tuesday. Perhaps they are fluffy little iClouds – or maybe new Airport adverts? Or, yes, Lion and iOS 5 Thanks Jmfm! A new Apple store to open near the North Carolina iTunes super datacenter by year’s end (9to5mac.com) AirPort, Time Capsule out of stock at some Apple Stores (9to5mac.com) The iconic Fifth Avenue Apple Store is New York’s top photo attraction (9to5mac....

Apple is promoting Hour of Code at its retail stores next week for the fifth year running with free coding classes for kids. Apple is also rolling out a new Swift Playgrounds challenge for Hour of Code to promote the company’s developer language using its educational iPad app. Registration for the free Apple Store workshops is now open with sessions available December 4 through 10. For Swift Playgrounds on iPad, you can use the Hour of Code challenge to create a digital robot “with new parts including cyborg eyes and electric hula hoop arms” from anywhere....

Apple is taking legal action against its former materials lead, Simon Lancaster, over allegedly leaking trade secrets to the media. The lawsuit accuses Lancaster of abusing his “position and trust within the company to systematically disseminate Apple’s sensitive trade secret information in an effort to obtain personal benefits.” The court document detailing the lawsuit was made public on Thursday. Lancaster allegedly used his senior role at Apple to “gain access to internal meetings and documents outside the scope” of his job as materials lead at Apple....

As Apple continues to approve more Apple Watch apps following the device going up for pre-order late last week, a long list of healthcare companies are showing off apps for the Apple Watch at the HIMSS 2015 conference this week in Chicago. Inlcuded are apps from HCSC, WebMD, Kaiser Permanente, Dexcom, HealthTap, Vocera and many others, enabling everything from health records for patients to medication reminders and continuous glucose monitoring on the Apple Watch....