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A settlement reached in an Apple Store bag search dispute has been given provisional approval by a court. The judge said that the agreement was not perfect, but on balance it was good enough to be allowed to proceed. The case related to the fact that Apple required retail store staff to submit to bag searches after they had clocked out, meaning that the 10-15 minutes they spent waiting inside the store for these searches was unpaid …...

Apple subsidiary Claris has announced a new entrepreneur training program today, in partnership with EonXI. The goal of the new partnership is to improve tech diversity through new low code initiatives. In a press release, Claris announced this new initiative with Venture Fund and Startup Studio, EonXI, to combine the “power of low-code software development, business training, mentorship, and community networking with one unified goal: expand diversity in technology and business ownership....

In a new post on its Newsroom website today, Apple touts that the App Store ecosystem supported $519 billion in billings and sales globally in 2019 alone. This data is based on a study conducted by independent economists at the Analysis Group. This announcement from Apple comes ahead of WWDC 2020, during which Apple generally touts the financial impact the App Store has had on developers around the world. Things are a bit different this year, given the all-online format of WWDC....

Apple TV+ today announced a new partnership with WildBrain to become the exclusive streaming home of the kids puppet series ‘Yo Gabba Gabba!’. In a very similar vein to the Peanuts deal announced last year, Apple TV+ will become the new home for all classic Yo Gabba Gabba! episodes and specials. The company has also ordered the production of 20 new half-hour episodes. Although Apple TV+ is mostly focused on wholly new franchises and originals, Yo Gabba Gabba will become part of a selection of back-catalog content on the service, joining the likes of Fraggle Rock, Charlie Brown, and travel docuseries Long Way Down and Long Way Round starring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman....

The latest Apple TV 4K has been available to consumers for just about a week, and we continue to learn more about the changes and improvements Apple has made with this year’s revision. The new Apple TV 4K is powered by the A15 Bionic chip, and new in-depth testing from FlatpanelsHD offers an interesting look at how this compares to game consoles like the Playstation 4 and Playstation 5. Apple TV 4K performance testing The A15 chip used by this year’s Apple TV 4K has a 4-core GPU, rather than the 5-core GPU version that was used in the iPhone 13 Pro....

Today, Apple has issued an over-the-air update to the Apple TV that brings several new content apps. Notably, in line with expectations, an app for the Vevo Music Video service has arrived. Also new are Disney Channel and Disney XD apps. With Apple’s deep partnership with Disney, it is about time that Disney has been fully integrated into the Apple TV. Apple TV users will now also be able to access Weather information via a new app from The Weather Channel....

You’ll also want to make sure you swing by our roundup of the best Apple Watch Series 5 bands for even more deals from $5. Here you’ll find a wide range of styles to choose from, including Sport Loops, Leather Straps, and more. Apple’s iPhone XS 64GB on pre-paid service Anker’s Halloween sale delivers deals on the latest tech Twelve South’s BookBook iPad cases are all on sale from $64 Kenwood’s 7-inch Receiver brings CarPlay to your ride Best Buy’s official eBay storefront currently offers the Kenwood 7-inch CarPlay and Android Auto Receiver DMX9706S for $500....

If you’ve ever wondered whether upgrading to the Apple Watch ECG functionality might justify an upgrade to the Series 4, cardiologists say probably not… CNET consulted several cardiologists, who said there is little overlap between Apple Watch owners and candidates for AFib. Indeed, as has been suggested before, the feature could cause unnecessary worry. Contrast that with the fact that the CDC estimates AFib affects somewhere between 2.7 million and 6....

We got an early indication that Consumer Reports were impressed with the Apple Watch when they were unable to scratch the sapphire screen of the stainless steel model. The well-respected non-profit has now revealed that the full set of lab tests are complete, and the Apple Watch ranked top out of the 11 smartwatches tested. Consumer reports tested the watches for durability, water-resistance, health functionality, readability in bright and low light, ease of use, and ease of interaction – though there was one slightly worrying moment for the Apple Watch Sport … To test water-resistance, Consumer Reports uses a depth-test chamber that can be pressurized to simulate any depth up to 230 feet....

Apple plans to reopen many more of its US retail stores this week as some regions continue to see a decline in new COVID-19 infections and relax stay-at-home orders. The third wave of US reopenings begins tomorrow, with most locations offering curbside or storefront service only. Out of Apple’s 510 stores, all but the 52 locations in Greater China closed temporarily on March 13. As of May 26, a total of 148 Apple Stores across the world are open and practicing additional safety procedures....

Back in 2015, the University of Wisconsin successfully convinced a court that Apple’s A-series chips infringed on a patent for a method of boosting the efficiency of integrated circuits. The iPhone maker was subsequently ordered to pay damages. But Apple appealed, with a two-prong defence, and has now succeeded in getting the judgement reversed … Apple was originally facing a bill as high as $862M for infringement of the patent. A jury subsequently awarded a lower sum of $234M after the judge ruled that Apple’s infringement was inadvertent rather than willful....

A set video from the Jason Momoa-led Aquaman film has made its way online treating fans to a brand new look at the Amnesty Bay Lighthouse. Official news regarding what the James Wan-directed film will specifically tackle is still rather thin with no official synopsis released as of yet. That said, since it will be the first standalone for the King of the Seven Seas, fans can expect that the film will delve a bit into his origins story coupled with references to the events of Justice League where he will first fully appear....

All the way back in 2017, Bloomberg reported on its knowledge of “rOS,” a new operating system that was supposedly being created to run a forthcoming virtual reality product. The news site predicted at the time that such a device could ship as early as 2020. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Since then, rumors have cropped up here and there about Apple’s ongoing efforts. Over the years, ever-shifting claims have prognosticated that the mysterious headset will be both stand-alone and require an iPhone to be tethered to, they’ve also claimed processing levels on par with everything from an iPhone to, more recently, an M1 Mac....

Newsweek‘s Dan Lyons reported today that Apple’s “thermonuclear war” on Android smartphone manufacturers is fading fast, while a new rumor surfaced among the suits’ lawyers claiming the company spent $100 million on its initial set of claims against HTC. Imagine how much Apple spent on other Android makers, such as Motorola (who is near locking Apple products out of Germany in retaliation) or Samsung (the biggest Mobile Communications patent holder in the world), if it spent so much on just HTC....

A new report from The Information today dives into Apple’s ongoing efforts to develop “search capabilities that might compete head-on with Google’s.” As part of those efforts, Apple acquired an AI news startup called Laserlike in 2018, which was founded by a group of Google engineers. Today’s report, however, says Laserlike’s founders have returned to Google… Laserlike cofounder Srinivasan Venkatachary had taken the role of senior director for Apple’s search team, helping manage at least 200 employees....

The first references to “Pro Mode” were found in macOS Catalina 10.15.3. Internal macOS code described this option as something to make apps run faster, while also warning about reduced battery life and increased fan noise. This feature was never made available to users, and all references were removed from macOS Monterey beta – until now. While there are no details on how exactly High Power Mode works, we assume it will force the CPU and GPU to run at their peak performance regardless of whether the Mac is connected to power or not....

Today, a new report from The Globe and Mail in Canada says that Apple is threatening to pull out of its planned development for a new flagship retail store. According to the report, Apple had signed a lease for more than 15,000 square feet of retail space in the development, but is now threatening to back out over construction delays. The building that is currently under construction is said to be the “tallest residential building” in Canada with an 85-story design....

Along with releasing beta updates for iOS, macOS, and tvOS today, Apple has updated its Safari Extensions webpage. The redesign includes a prominent link to the extensions available in the Mac App Store, and also features the ability to install extensions from the webpage with a single click. The Safari Extensions Gallery sports a fresh new look with nine featured apps at the top of the webpage ranging from 1Password, to Notifier for GitHub, to a translation extension....

The Apple versus Facebook battle escalated quickly this week! The two companies had been on opposite sides for some time when it came to ad-tracking, but Facebook dramatically upped the ante when it ran full-page newspaper ads attacking Apple – with more reportedly planned. It’s a battle Facebook almost certainly cannot win. The risk to Apple, however, is that it is very possible both companies could lose … The Apple versus Facebook battle in a nutshell We’ve previously explained what the dispute is about....

Apple has reportedly been working on its own virtual universe as the company also has plans to introduce a new mixed reality headset. And, following a statement from Mark Zuckerberg saying that the metaverse should be “open” as a criticism of Apple, the company’s VP of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said during an interview with WSJ that he will never use the word “metaverse.” Apple’s VP pokes at Facebook about the metaverse Joswiak and Apple’s VP of Software Craig Federighi were interviewed by journalist Joanna Stern on Tuesday at the WSJ Tech Live event....