We’ll be live-blogging Apple’s media event today below, and we’ll be providing text and photo updates from before, during, and after the show. Simultaneously, we’ll be holding a Google Hangout. You can read our expectations for the event, and check back for the start at 1 PM Eastern/ 10 AM Pacific. Live blog starts below: – Tim Cook is out! – Cook welcomes those watching the streams internationally. – Cook moving into updates, talking about the iTunes Festival in London; 20 million people applied for the (free) tickets....

Apple today has added seven new cities to its Flyover feature in Maps. Flyover, for those unfamiliar offers high resolution 3D imagery of locations via the Apple Maps app. Apple added 20 new Flyover locations back in April, including the Arches National Park in Utah. In February, the company added nine new cities, including Venice. Today’s new additions can be seen below and bring the total number of Flyover locations to 148....

Ultimately, the stint didn’t last, as Microsoft again overtook Apple for the top spot moments later, closing the day with an $811.3 billion valuation. AAPL has rallied well since its most recent earnings call and a rare guidance revision. While the stock plummeted to a low of about $145 per share following the earnings revision, it has strengthened and is now trading at over $171 per share. Last week, Morgan Stanley predicted that Apple might once again reach a $1 trillion market cap if it successfully launches a “media bundle” in 2019....

A firm of lawyers that successfully negotiated two Apple antitrust settlements is once again taking on the Cupertino company. Hagens Berman, which won a $560M e-book settlement, and more recently a $100M App Store one, is again targeting Apple’s 15% or 30% cut of iOS app sales … Apple antitrust settlements by Hagens Berman Apple was found guilty of artificially controlling the price of e-books back in 2013, a practice which later saw law firm Hagens Berman achieve payouts for customers who bought e-books from Apple during a two-year period....

The situation arose because the trade-in process was left unresolved, and Apple was following its standard procedures in matters of money owed; this is not anything specific to the Apple Card. When an account is marked as in bad standing, use of Apple ID services is restricted; things like Apple Music or App Store purchases. iCloud is wholly separate and is not disabled at all. You can read Apple’s full statement on the matter after the break....

It’s been more than five years since plans were announced for an innovative Apple data center town heating plan. The idea was to harvest excess heat, and use it to help warm nearby homes. That plan still hasn’t been implemented, but there is now much greater interest in the face of huge increases in energy costs … Background Data centers use a lot of power, and generate a lot of heat....

Usually, at least. If you ask a fine Apple salesperson why, say, an iPad is better than any other tablet, they might ask you whether there are any other tablets. And when you ask them about iPhones, well, they may whip out their own shiny iPhone from their pockets just to show their pride. There are, however, some grumblings in Apple stores these days. On a couple of visits, I – and, indeed, some of my dearest friends – have discovered that masks are slipping....

Although it didn’t make the keynote cut, one of the bigger news items for developers today is that Apple is rolling out a new file system for storage for all its products: Details are scant but developers can access information about the new File System here, but it comes with some significant caveats/limitations which will initially limit its usage: The Apple File System (APFS) is the next-generation file system designed to scale from an Apple Watch to a Mac Pro....

With the launch of the new iPad just hours away, there will be a flood of new iPad owners looking for apps that boast the device’s 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution Retina display. To make it easier, Apple posted a new section on iTunes that lists Retina-ready apps recently updated to take advantage of the new display. The section currently consists of about 24 apps, some of which include “Tweetbot,” “Skitch,” “Infinity Blade II,” and “Sky Gamblers....

As detailed in a new report from Axios, Apple is facing a lawsuit from Michigan-based Omni MedSci over the Apple Watch. The company, a technology started focused on “near-infrared and mid-infrared broadband lasers,” alleges that the heart rate technology in the Apple Watch infringe on its patent… Omni MedSci says that it met with Apple over the course of 2014 through 2016, but that Apple ultimately ceased talks about a potential partnership....

A low-tech scheme where postal workers from Japan Post check-in on how elderly residents are doing is about to go hi-tech with the help of iPads, reports the WSJ. The pilot scheme – one of the fruits of the Apple/IBM partnership – will see Japan Post hand out free iPads to 1,000 older citizens to allow closer and more frequent checks. Data from the iPads will be analyzed by IBM’s Watson computer, reports Nikkei …...

The Apple Education Store in the US is following a trend that has existed in the United Kingdom and the European Union for years. If you plan to get a discount when buying a new Mac or iPad for education purposes, you need to prove that you’re currently enrolled in a participating university. The Apple Education Store has existed for a long time, but in the United States it has never required users to prove that they’re actually a student....

Apple today announced that it is increasing the size limit for apps submitted by developers to the App Store through its iTunes Connect service. Previously limited to 2GB, app packages can now be a maximum of 4GB in size. Apple made the announcement on its website for developers earlier today but some apps have been over the 2GB limit since at least January. Apple noted the change will allow developers to “include more media in your submission and provide a more complete, rich user experience upon installation....

The company says that changing exchange rates have actually bought UK prices roughly into line with those across the rest of Europe. Apple in January said it would reduce the prices it charges UK music fans for song purchases through iTunes. This was after a European Commission enquiry exploring collusion between Apple and the majors over how iTunes works in Europe. At the time, Europe’s competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “The Commission is very much in favour of solutions which allow consumers to benefit from a truly single market for music downloads....

Apple has now introduced a manner in which customers seeking support can book repair appointments with not only the well known Genius Bar, but also Apple Authorized Service Providers. Previously customers only had the option to book online reservations with the Genius Bar, but the move to add third-party bookings is a new one. Customers should now have a better experience in finding a location to solve their issues. Third-party authorized service providers aren’t new within Apple’s support ecosystem, but having the ability to book appointments with them is....

Apple is teaming up with Encircle, a nonprofit that provides community resource houses to LGBTQ+ youth and their families. Apple will be donating $1 million and contributing products that “promote digital connection” to the organization, while Apple CEO Tim Cook will serve as an honorary co-chair. Encircle’s motto is “no sides, only love,” and it was created with the goal of “bringing together families and communities, to enable LGBTQ+ youth to thrive....

As the COVID-19 vaccination is progressing around the world, Apple is encouraging its employees to return to work in person. However, not everyone seems willing to return to the office, and now some employees are saying they will leave the company as it is denying requests for remote work. In a new report from The Verge, it was revealed that Apple has been denying even more requests from employees who want to continue working from home instead of the new hybrid model....

Patently Apple is on a roll these days with Apple patent filings. Today, the publication uncovered a recent Apple filing that promises exciting new features on future iOS devices catering to citizen journalists worldwide. Put simply, Apple wants to take CNN’s iReport idea to the next level. For example, wouldn’t it be great if a future iPhone could automatically switch between the front and back camera for a seamless live report between interviewer and interviewee, in real-time and during a FaceTime video call?...

What is Apple Glass? The first-generation Apple Glass is likely to offer LiDAR through the right temple and wireless charging through a provided stand. LiDAR technology, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is built into the recently released second-generation 11-inch iPad Pro and fourth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It’s a remote sensing method that uses light in a pulsed laser to measure ranges. In doing so, LiDAR can help create and overlay AR objects in the real world....

Following the Platforms State of the Union address this afternoon at WWDC20 Apple has shared some highlights on its new developer tech and tools to “foster the next generation of apps.” These include Xcode 12, new features in SwiftUI, App Clips and Widgets in iOS and iPadOS 14, improved access to Apple’s platforms like Find My and HomePod, as well as a new App Store Review process that gives developers a way to “challenge” guidelines....