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Below is our usual list of the most notable app-related news from today, including, among others: new web radio features for Spotify, the release of Bento 4 for iPad, and updates to both the Square Register and Pay With Square iOS apps. Spotify Version 0.5.2: First, we have an update to the Spotify iOS app that brings a new radio experience to the service. A report from AllThingsD detailed the new web radio service and described it as “more or less mirrors Pandora’s core radio service....

Image via Jon Brodkin Tomorrow will mark three months since the launch of iOS 8.4 and Apple Music, and this means that the first free trial sign-ups will begin expiring. In its latest push to retain users, Apple has begun emailing users with set-to-expire trials as well as pushing notifications to their devices. As can be seen in the image above, the notification encourages users to renew. As we learned in the summer, users who do not manually end their free trial with Apple Music will be automatically opted into continuing their subscription for either $9....

Apple shareholders are the latest to jump into the fray of a lawsuit against Apple over its anti-poaching agreements with a number of other tech companies. As we’ve previously reported, Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, and a laundry list of other companies allegedly created illegal pacts to avoid hiring each others’ engineers, allowing each employer to keep its wages low without running the risk of a competitor snatching up its competition with a better deal....

Apple is back with new iPhone 13 advertisements that highlight some of its features, such as the durability of Ceramic Shield glass and the longer battery life. The company also shared a short film shot entirely with an iPhone 13 Pro in celebration of Chinese New Year. The first ad is called “Run Baby Run” and shows a baby running around the house and banging and dropping an iPhone 13 everywhere....

As it usually does, Apple showcased a handful of videos during its keynote address at WWDC earlier today and now the company has uploaded the videos to YouTube, including product videos for the HomePod, new iPad Pro, and new iMac Pro… Apple today made a handful of announcements, including a few new hardware products. The company also opened its keynote address with a humorous video imagining an app apocalypse. On YouTube, there are a pair of videos teasing the upcoming iMac Pro, which will be released in December starting at $4999....

Apple has been slammed by Chinese environmental campaigners, who have ranked it last among 29 tech firms in terms of “responsiveness and transparency to health and environmental concerns” in China. The Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs (IPE) said Apple had refused to confirm if suspected polluters were among the suppliers it used, and is also accused of avoiding taking responsibility for environmental problems associated with its products. Apple counters that it has an extensive accreditation scheme for its suppliers and that it has a host of environmental information carried on its website....

Bloomberg‘s Adam Satariano has an interesting profile out this morning regarding the usage of wearable fitness devices in work environments. The report says that some companies are offering devices, such as the FitBit, in order to track the fitness of its employees. With that information, companies are able to slice costs off of insurance plans if employees hit certain fitness data thresholds: The companies, of course, have to partner up with insurance providers to make this happen....

Apple has updated its WWDC app for iPhone and iPad with a new look and feel ahead of the annual conference later this month. The updated version of the app also includes tvOS support for the first time. This means video content and session information can be accessed from the fourth generation Apple TV. WWDC version 5.0 also has a new theme starting with the icon. Last year’s version was bright with a purple icon and white user interface....

According to a report from Bloomberg, U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Thomas Pender has ruled in favor (PDF) of Motorola and claimed Apple’s devices infringe on one Android-related patent owned by the company. The ruling is only a partial victory for Motorola’s attempt to receive an injunction on iPhones and iPads, because the judge’s decision will still have to be reviewed before import blocks can be achieved: As for the Wi-Fi patent in question (# 6,246,697), Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet told AllThingsD that Motorola refused to license its industry-standard technology on “reasonable terms”:...

Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey has responded to the legal dispute taking place between Apple and the major Australian banks, in an interview with AFR.com. Bailey revealed that participating customers in Australia use the contactless payment service more frequently than any other country, and that the holdout banks do not fully understand the benefits of Apple Pay yet. Bailey says customers are prepared to switch banks in order to use Apple Pay, which should help Apple wield its bargaining power....

Apple has made its concerns official. The iPhone maker fears Samsung tablet will lure consumers away from the powerful iTunes ecosystem. Apple’s been successfully leveraging iTunes to tie people to the platform through app and entertainment content sales. The heated Apple vs. Samsung legal battle over who’s copying who is really about the ecosystem rather than the hardware or the patents. That’s the gist of today’s hearing before the Federal Court in Sydney related to an Apple-requested ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10....

Today’s best deals include markdowns on Apple Watches, iPhones, iPads, and more, plus all-time lows for ecobee’s top-rated smart thermostats. Hit the jump for all that in today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Today only, Apple Watch and iPhones from $100 Today only, Woot is offering various refurbished iPhone and Apple Watch models from $100. You can pick up the iPhone XS from $405. That’s the second-best price we’ve tracked and down from the new condition starting price of $999....

Apple Watch users will soon see an alert for an upcoming Activity Challenge set for next month. The almost annual ‘Ring in the New Year’ challenge will kick off in January, marking the first Apple Watch promotion of 2020. That’s almost annual because Apple did not push a similar challenge for 2019, an outlier since starting the tradition three years earlier. Apple Watch Activity Challenges are meant to promote using the watch for fitness and act as a way for Apple to guide users into taking advantage of the workout tracking features....

Ahead of the expected unveil of the Apple Watch Series 4 this week, availability of the Apple Watch Series 1 is beginning to worsen. On Apple’s website, the 38mm Apple Watch Series 1 in silver and space gray has become unavailable for purchase, as have many models of the Series 3. The change was first noticed by iHelp BR. Directly from Apple, the 42mm version of the Apple Watch Series 1 remains available for shipping and pickup at select Apple Stores....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhwhnEe7CjE Here’s some good news for Apple amid several months of controversy surrounding the Cupertino-company’s marketing efforts: Apples’ 2013 Holiday season television commercial “Misunderstood” has won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for most “outstanding commercial” in 2014. The award was announced on the Emmy’s winners list last night, and the Creative Arts Emmy Awards are presented for “guest performers on television dramas and comedy series, as well as the many talented artists and craftspeople behind the scenes to create television excellence....

Apple’s plan to ramp up AirPods production could be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Nikkei Asian Review reports today that Apple’s three primary AirPods manufacturers, Luxshare, Goertek, and Inventec, have all halted AirPods production. The coronavirus outbreak has forced suppliers in China to halt production, but even if work resumes on Monday as planned, sources told Nikkei that there will be a shortage of components. The three AirPods assemblers are scheduled to resume work on Monday, but “production utilization rates may reach just 50% at best in the first week given the current conditions,” the report says....

Apple has shared its latest Shot on iPhone feature, this time with a holiday twist. Titled Holiday cheer, winter landscapes and more, the new collection of images highlights impressive seasonal shots from iPhone XR and XS users from around the world. The images in this feature include sharp portraits of people and pets, nature, and more. Here are all the images shared in today’s Newsroom post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BrLK2Xflvw9/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet погодка подсобила конечно 😏 ....

There’s been an impressive roster of Apple TV+ awards since the service launched, and last night added two more, at the Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards. Both Severance and Ted Lasso won in their categories, after a combined total of 24 nominations between them … HCA nominations Apple last month celebrated the fact that Apple TV+ notched up 53 nominations for the Hollywood Critics Association Awards, more than any other streaming service....

Apple has released the Apple TV app on many different platforms, and is adding Sony and Vizio smart TVs later this summer, but the exact feature compatibility varies widely across each version of the TV app. This week, the Apple TV app for LG smart TVs has addressed one of its shortcomings. The TV app for LG smart TVs can now play back content with complete sound fidelity thanks to the addition of Dolby Atmos audio support....

Over the last month, there’s been some controversy between Apple and iOS developers who make parental control apps that use mobile device management (MDM). Most recently, Apple said it was only going to allow parental control apps that didn’t use MDM, but now “in limited cases” it will let developers use the solution. At the end of April, Apple’s Phil Schiller made the announcement about the company cutting off developers of parental control apps that use MDM....