The HomePod was launched in the United States back in 2017 and since then its expansion around the world has been quite slow. And after being launched in Japan last year, the company confirmed today that the HomePod will also be available shortly in India. The news comes as no surprise, as iOS 13.3.1 was released yesterday with support for Indian English Siri voices for HomePod, and that usually only happens when Apple is ready to launch the product in the country....

The latest antitrust hearing looking into concerns about Apple and Google’s market power is underway. Along with the companies getting a grilling from the Congressional subcommittee on antitrust, representatives from Spotify, Tile, and more are testifying about how they see the two tech giants as stifling competition. The Apple and Google hearing today entitled Antitrust Applied: Examining Competition in App Stores is another instance of monopoly concerns growing about the tech titans....

Apple has made quite a lot of progress on its under construction “Campus 2” set to become the company’s new headquarters when complete around the end of the year. Since last checking in a month ago, a video update published today by Matthew Roberts for June shows continued progress on the roof of the main circular spaceship building, including a look at the heating and cooling systems installed throughout, and what looks to be some new outdoor areas surrounding the entrance of the underground theatre....

Just a week after Apple Card added a new web portal for managing your bill and statements from the browser, another major feature gap has been partially filled. As first spotted on Reddit, you can now link your Apple Card account to the budgeting service Mint. For those unfamiliar, Mint is a popular budgeting service that ties together banks, bills, credit cards, and more from various different places. For Apple Card users, one of the glaring omissions (other than a web portal) was integration with budgeting platforms like Mint....

Readers and Tweeters are reporting that Apple CEO Tim Cook is at the Palo Alto University Apple Store greeting new iPhone 5S and 5C buyers. Cook spoke highly of the nearby new design Stanford Shopping Center at the iPhone 5s/c announcement. Update: We’re now hearing that Eddie Cue and Phil Schiller are at the new Stanford Store doing the same thing. Some Tim Cook Tweets/images below: @9to5mac Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller are here at the Stanford Apple Store!...

Apple has effectively confirmed yesterday’s Bloomberg report that both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched investigations into whether Apple may have broken the law by throttling iPhone performance to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company has also given a statement in response … Apple did not specify the names of the agencies, but did confirm to Axios that it has been contacted by more than one....

A tip we’ve received from an Apple Store employee indicates that Apple will be putting up celebratory LED window displays at Apple Stores, showing a stylised ‘3’ and a ‘Happy birthday, Mac’ message. iPhones and iPads in the window will reportedly be removed. The graphic came via special SD card. Happy 30th #Apple! A post shared by Bill Wilson (@level42) on Jan 24, 2014 at 1:47pm PST Boxes of special t-shirts have arrived for the occasion (photo below the fold) … If you see the window displays go up at your local store, please send photos to the tips email or Twitter account....

I have previously written about my frustration With iBooks Author and iTunes U, and Apple has now announced both of these products are being discontinued. iBooks Author will no longer be updated, and iTunes U is being discontinued at the end of 2021. iBooks Author will continue to work, but you’ll need to make preparations to transition to Pages in the near future. Much of the functionality from iBooks Author has made its way into Pages over the past few update cycles....

Apple is helping A-series and M1 chipmaker TSMC get COVID-19 vaccines for its employees after an appeal for help from the Taiwanese government, according to a new report today. Taiwan had long had an excellent record at keeping the pandemic under control on the island – with zero cases for eight months straight – but that record has now come to an abrupt end … The Independent reports. Taiwan’s success to date has been down to controlling travel, and an highly effective contact-tracing system....

We’ve since learned more about was happening behind the scenes in California. Rather than discontinuing the Beats brand, Apple was hiring its first in-house designer to oversee Beats product design. Apple and Beats We pointed to six years of Apple investing in the Beats brand since acquiring Beats Electronics to make our counterpoint against the rumor of Beats’ demise:: A few months later, Beats debuted the $49 Flex headphones with Apple’s W1 chip....

Apple is once again adjusting its COVID-19 policies for retail employees. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple plans to begin testing vaccinated retail workers twice per week, an increase from the current once per week testing policy. The change comes as Apple is mulling lifting the mask requirement for its retail employees. Apple Stores adjust COVID-19 protocols again Apple announced this change in a memo to U.S. retail employees on Tuesday....

Earlier this month, NPR debuted its new Remote Audio Data system – referred to as RAD – that aims to offer new types of podcast analytics data to advertisers and podcast creators. The Verge is out today with an overview of the RAD standard, including how Apple is already involved. NPR confirmed to The Verge that Apple employees offered feedback on the RAD standard, but it’s unclear as to the extent of the company’s involvement....

The British government is planning to include both on-screen and live emotive stunts in an anti-encryption ad campaign designed to sway public opinion against end-to-end encryption in messaging apps. The anti-privacy ad blitz is reportedly due to begin this month… Anti-encryption ad campaign plans Rolling Stone learned of the plans. The government has confirmed that an ad campaign is planned, though it has not commented on the details. The UK government is set to launch a multi-pronged publicity attack on end-to-end encryption, Rolling Stone has learned....

Apollo for Reddit, one of the most popular iOS Reddit clients, has been updated today to version 1.3. The update brings several notable changes, including a brand new feature pack that includes full app thumbing, realtime notifications, and more. Headlining the Apollo for Reddit update is a new ‘Apollo Ultra’ feature pack, which is available as an in-app purchase for $0.99 per month, $9.99 per year, or $19.99 lifetime. Apollo Ultra brings several new features, including app theming, a new custom app icon every month, and realtime notifications....

If you like the idea of growing your own food but know nothing about gardening, a new startup thinks it has just the thing you need. Grow Duo calls itself the world’s first intelligent planter. The companion app shows you how to plant your seeds, the planter takes care of the watering and the app lets you know when it needs your help – either for pruning, or for harvesting your crop …...

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has been contracted by Apple to soon manufacture A6X chips, according to a report from Taiwan-based Commercial Times (via France24). The move, which has been speculated by media in the recent months, is said to reduce Apple’s reliance on South Korean-based Samsung, who has been responsible for many of Apple’s chips in recent years. The folks in Cupertino introduced the A6X chip in the fourth-generation iPad in October, and it is expected to go into TSMC’s hands, rather than Samsung’s, during the first quarter of this year for trial production....

Yesterday, we shared a video of a marathon runner testing the real-world resilience of the AirPods as fitness workout headphones. Apple doesn’t claim that the wireless earbuds are waterproof so there were some fears that they would be ruined by sweat or simply fall out. These concerns appear unfounded as the AirPods excelled in that test and now another video show the AirPod earbuds and case going through multiple drop tests, water submersion and even a washing machine cycle with detergent....

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLJN_d2sVjk] You can’t make this up. As many iPhone owners wake up New Years Day and realize their Do Not Disturb is stuck on, they might also catch a glimpse of Apple’s new iPhone 5 commercial. Featuring the Tennis stars/sisters Venus and Serena Williams playing table tennis in a dream sequence, the ad tells the viewer that they might miss out on an awesome dream without Apple’s Do Not Disturb feature....

Starting next month, Apple will allow the Russian government to pre-install apps on iPhones, iPads, and possibly other devices like Macs in future. In accordance with a new Russian law, Apple users will see a dialog box upon initial setup of new devices that features web browsers, antivirus, messenger, email clients, and more to be installed by default. The list of apps is provided by the government. All apps in the list are pre-selected to be installed as part of setup; however, users are able to deselect apps individually if they don’t want them....

Even before Apple has built its first Chinese R&D center in Beijing, Tim Cook has announced that a second one is on the way. Reuters reports that the second one will be in the country’s largest manufacturing district, Shenzhen. Apple said that this center will be specifically focused on allowing Apple to work more closely with its manufacturing partners in the country … Strengthening relationships with local universities is a secondary aim, added Rosenstock....