In addition to filing a trademark for the name “iWatch” in Russia and Japan, Apple has requested a trademark for “iWatch” with Mexico’s Institute of Industrial Property. The Mexico-based filing was made public in recent days, but the request was originally filed on June 3rd. Apple filed the iWatch trademark under two categories relating to the hardware and software of mobile devices, according to the submitted documents. Apple’s submitted “iWatch” graphic in the filing:...

Apple has silently extended its worldwide program that offers free repair to 13-inch MacBook Pro models with display backlight issues. While the original program covered eligible laptops for four years after the first unit was sold, the company changed it today to five years. The original program was announced in May 2019 for owners of the 13-inch MacBook Pro models introduced in 2016. Apple says that some units may exhibit unexpected behavior on the display, such as bright vertical areas at the bottom of the screen....

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is out with a wide-reaching new investor note this evening. Kuo says that Apple will release new iPads, a new 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 31-inch 6K monitor, iPhones with bilateral charging, and more in 2019. First and foremost, Kuo says that the 2019 iPhone models will retain the same screen sizes as the iPhone XS and iPhone XR. This means we’ll get 6.5-inch, 5.8-inch, and 6....

Update 11:50 am PT: The new antitrust act has been officially introduced. US House representatives have unveiled the Ending Platform Monopolies Act today – renamed as the American Choice and Innovation Online Act. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) shared a statement (via The Verge): Spotify’s head of global affairs and chief legal officer Horatio Gutierrez also shared a statement on the act being officially unveiled and the company’s perspective on how it could impact Apple:...

(we’ve heard this directive comes from the tip top) First it was the MacBooks, then the Aluminum iMac, and now the MacBook Pros (old 17 inch notwithstanding). Today, the Cinema Displays are falling. Apple just EOL’ed the 23 inch (matte) display in favor of the 24-inch DisplayPort (glossy) beauty that will be shipping later this month. It isn’t a huge stretch that the 20 inch and 30 inch displays will likely follow at Macworld 2009....

Apple last year introduced a limited edition AirTag with a cute tiger emoji character engraved on it as part of the new year celebrations in Japan, since 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. With 2023 approaching, the company on Tuesday announced a new limited edition AirTag for Japanese customers. This time, the AirTag has a rabbit emoji engraved on it to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. Apple to celebrate Year of the Rabbit in Japan with limited edition AirTag As reported by Forbes (via MacDailyNews), Apple will hold a special promotion in Japan for 48 hours from January 2 until the end of January 3, 2023....

Apple today announced the next version of macOS, named Big Sur. It features a UI overhaul that brings it closer to iOS in style. Many buttons are now chromeless and highlight as you mouse over. There is a lot more translucency, and app icons in the Dock now resemble their iOS counterparts too. macOS Big Sur also brings Control Center to the desktop for the first time with quick access to brightness and other toggles....

This render provides our first look at Apple’s plan to build a sizeable new R&D center in Japan. We first heard that Apple would be building a facility “on par with Apple’s biggest R&D centers in Asia” from the Japanese Prime Minister late last year. Japanese news site NHK reports that the center will be built on the outskirts of Yokohama, the second biggest city in Japan after nearby Tokyo. The city’s mayor announced in a news conference that Apple had purchased the remains of a Panasonic factory on the site, and would be building a 25,000 square meter facility over four floors....

The approval of two trademarks has raised hopes of seeing the launch of Apple Card in Canada. Canadian trademarks were approved for both Apple Card and Apple Cash. The Canadian Trademarks Database reveals that it took quite some time to get approval … Apple filed its application back in July of 2019, and approval was finally granted just last week. iPhone in Canada spotted the filing. Apple Card was launched in the US in 2019, and hasn’t yet made it to any other countries....

If you experienced any problems with Apple Card this Friday, it’s not just you. Apple has just confirmed an Apple Card outage on its System Status website that has been affecting some users. Update: Apple says the outage has now been fixed. You can read the original article below. According to Apple, the outage began around 11:33 a.m. PT and is still ongoing. The company says that some users may not be able to apply for the Apple Card, pay their bill, or even apply for a new card....

Earlier today, a report explained that Apple was among a handful of companies who had applied for government permission to test drone usage beyond current FAA limits. Now, Apple has officially commented on these plans… A report in 2016 indicated that Apple was planning to use drones to collect data for Apple Maps, and now the company has confirmed that initiative. The company says, however, that its stance on privacy will remain the same throughout its use of drones....

At WWDC this past June, Apple shared updates on its guidelines for HTML5 use in iOS apps. Now Apple has announced that developers will have an extra six months to prepare their apps to meet the new guidelines. Apple detailed the extended deadline and reiterated the new HTML5 App Store guidelines in a post on its developer site today: Apple still asks developers to update their apps as soon as possible to be in compliance with the new guidelines but is giving another six months to make the necessary changes....

Apple is adding another year to the eligibility window for an iPhone 12 service recall program it launched last year. The service program applies to iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro devices that experience “no sound issues” due to a faulty component in the receiver module. Apple first launched the service program in August of 2021. At the time, the company explained that a “very small percentage” of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro devices “may experience sound issues due to a component that might fail on the receiver module....

The USPTO has today published an Apple patent application for a flexible display which deforms when touched to provide tactile feedback. Actuators beneath the display would create bumps or ridges in the display to simulate buttons and other virtual objects. The patent also describes a speaker and microphone that could work through the display, potentially making for sleeker and more water-resistant devices. The display described would be sensitive to both touch and pressure … Electronic devices may be provided that contain flexible displays and internal components....

Microsoft Security essentials took an astonishing lead with over 40% of reader votes. The next runner-up was “Other” and in the comments Avast took the cake followed up by Comodo. A few others mentioned were Avira, Trend Micro, Vipre, Malwarebytes and Bitdefender. As for the rest of the official results, check them out in the graphic below. Overall it looks like most people took advantage of the free anti-virus programs available....

Today’s continuing testimony in the iTunes antitrust lawsuit has revealed that the company added changes to iTunes that deleted music that had been purchased through competing stores like Real Player from iPods. Users would not be notified that any music would be deleted by updating their music players. The deletions allegedly occurred between 2007 and 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. Whenever a user tried to sync an iPod with iTunes, it would check for music from other sources....

As it has done previously, Apple kicked off a one-day sale in Japan today to celebrate the start of a new year. Customers purchasing select iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Beats models online or at an Apple store will be eligible to receive a gift card valued between 3,000 and 24,000 yen. Japan’s New Year’s sale is similar to an earlier promotion Apple held in the United States and elsewhere around the world leading up to this past holiday season....

In a move that will certainly please iOS developers, Apple has finally disabled the ability to write app reviews on the latest beta version of iOS 9. When attempting to review applications in the store, beta users will now be met with a message informing them that the feature is unavailable. The change was spotted by several Twitter users earlier this evening. App makers have long been put off by low reviews from users experiencing problems related to unsupported versions of the mobile operating system, which often hurt an app’s overall ratings and possibly affected their downloads as potential buyers took note of the negative feedback without knowing the full context....

Apple Watch fitness lab Apple is kicking off its second-ever internal activity challenge company wide next month, and this year the competition includes a new prize. Employees who finish the challenge with gold will earn a special nylon Apple Watch band themed after the activity rings that isn’t sold in stores. The activity challenge is intended to promote a healthy lifestyle through fitness and activity tracking among employees with the Apple Watch....

Apple has added a few new iPhone 12 silicone cases to the online store. The new colors include sunflower, cloud blue, and electric orange. All three colors are available for each of the four iPhone 12 models. They are priced at the same $49 and are available for delivery starting this Wednesday. These cases are, of course, MagSafe compatible, so they’ll work with the MagSafe wallet and MagSafe chargers. They join a variety of other colors introduced in October, as well as the Spring colors introduced after the April event....