The company explains that Safari has always been a leader when it comes to user privacy, being the first browser to block third-party cookies by default and more. macOS High Sierra adds a feature called Intelligent Tracking Prevision that takes purging data and cookies to the next level. Apple says the feature works to detect and eliminate cookies and other data used for cross-site tracking – and it’s quick to clarify that the feature doesn’t block ads or interfere with legitimate tracking:...

In a filing for shareholders today, Apple announced that Millard Drexler, a member of the eight-person Board of Directors, is retiring from the Board. Apple has not yet named a replacement. Drexler’s term will end in March upon the next official shareholder meeting. Drexler will be the second board member to retire within the last year. In mid-2014, former director Bill Campbell retired. He was replaced by BlackRock Founding Partner Susan Wagner, who, along with the rest of Apple’s board, is up for reelection in March....

Apple has announced to employees that it is revising its COVID-19 protocols for corporate staff and retail staff members. In an announcement on Thursday, Apple informed corporate and retail staff members that face masks will be optional in “regions where local indoor-mask mandates have been eliminated” starting this week. Apple Store mask requirements As first reported by Bloomberg, masks are now optional for vaccinated corporate employees beginning today. Meanwhile, the mask mandate for retail employees will be lifted on Friday....

Multiple leakers this morning have suggested the idea of the March 23rd date for Apple’s next product event. Apple often holds spring events to announce new products, but it isn’t a guarantee. Depending on the year, Apple sometimes releases products simply via press releases, like last year with the 2020 iPad Pro. The lines are blurred currently as ‘Apple events’ are all held virtually because of the pandemic, but the main difference between an event and press release announcements is the inclusion of a prepared scripted video presentation....

A month after rolling out carrier billing for iTunes and App Store content with German carrier O2, CNBC reports Apple is expanding the initiative with a similar service in Russia. The carrier billing feature allows customers to have purchases made from Apple’s iTunes and App Store charged directly to their wireless account with a local carrier. For Russia, Apple is reportedly first partnering with Amsterdam-based carrier VimpelCom for customers of its Beeline brand....

The Wall Street Journal reports that Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission has fined Apple approximately US$670,000 for its attempts to influence phone pricing set by distributors and service providers in the region. According to a statement from the commission, Apple was forcing at least three carriers to submit pricing plans for iPhone ahead of offering the devices for sale: The report adds that Apple could face an additional fine of NT$50 million (around $1....

As Apple continues its marketing campaign for the Apple Watch along with its release, the company has shared a recent interview with Christy Turlington Burns hosted by fitness lead Jay Blahnik at the Regent Street Apple Store in London. Turlington Burns ran in the London Marathon on Sunday wearing the Apple Watch. Since her appearance on stage at Apple’s March event for the new device, she’s been highlighting using the Watch to prepare for the marathon with updates of her experience on Apple’s website each week....

Digitimes reports that Apple is bringing on more suppliers of 5G components as it ramps iPhone 13 production. Apple is apparently now working with five separate suppliers for Antenna-in-Package components. Apple needs to expand its supplier list because it will be using more 5G parts this time around, compared to the iPhone 12 release cycle. The iPhone 12 was the first iPhone to support 5G speeds, both sub-6GHz and mmWave. mmWave enables superfast multi-gigabit speeds in select areas, however it is only available in select areas and only works outdoors....

Update: Apple confirms: With iPhone sales reported for Apple’s fiscal Q3 yesterday, the company is now at around 988.15 million iPhones sold, meaning it’s about to pass the 1 billion units sold milestone and will likely do so any day now. Cupertino, California July 27, 2016 At an employee meeting in Cupertino this morning, CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple recently sold the billionth iPhone. “iPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history....

The developer of Apollo for Reddit, one of the most popular third-party Reddit apps on iOS, announced yesterday that he would donate all of that day’s proceeds to the SPCA animal shelter in Canada. Today, he has revealed just how much he received through this effort… In a post on Reddit yesterday, Apollo developer Christian explained that the SPCA animal shelter, which he describes as “basically the Canadian version of the American ASPCA,” is running short on food and money due to an influx of kittens:...

Apple today released the second beta developer of iOS 14, iPadOS, and macOS Big Sur. Although the main new features were announced at WWDC 2020, the company continues to work on enhancements to its operating systems. Apple is now adding Apple Pay support for Catalyst apps with macOS Big Sur beta 2. The addition of the Apple Pay API for Catalyst apps was mentioned in the release notes of iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur developer beta 2....

Apple just issued a press release to confirm the iPhone 5 would land in South Korea and 50 additional countries in December. Apple noted that it has currently launched the iPhone 5 in 47 countries. Moreover, with the December launches announced today, it is on track to meet its goal of 100 countries by the end of the year. South Korea will officially get the device Dec. 7, while other countries will get access Dec....

While it’s widely rumored that the iPhone 7 will drop the headphone jack when it launches later this year, known Apple audio supplier Cirrus Logic may have hinted about how Apple plans to handle this transition. Speaking to analysts and investors during the company’s latest earnings call (via BI), CEO Jason Rhode made a few interesting comments about what might be planned for later this year. Cirrus Logic, which specializes in audio-related technology for mobile devices, has been traced back to hardware inside iPhones through product teardowns in the past, although the company is quiet about its relationship with Apple like most firms that partner with the iPhone maker....

Apple has made significant enhancements to its upcoming Health application for iOS 8 in the latest beta of the new iPhone operating system. Most notably, the Health application can now utilize the iPhone’s own M7 motion tracking hardware for data sourcing. The Health app’s Steps counter tab can now report steps without connecting to any third party applications or hardware devices. Because this feature likely uses the M7 processor, an iPhone 5s is required to get the steps data directly from the device…...

In the chaos of iPhone 7 preorder night last week, one widespread complaint was Apple’s apparent neglect of customers signed up with the company’s iPhone Upgrade Program. As Zac noted last week, one of the biggest problems with the plan is that customers must buy from Apple in-store, not from a third-party store like Best Buy or even online from Apple. Now, Apple has been hit with a class action lawsuit because the issues surrounding the iPhone Upgrade Program....

Not even a week after being requested to pull The New York Times app from the Chinese Apple App Store, both Apple and Google will have to pull the LinkedIn app from their respective app stores. According to The New York Times, the removal comes after a court ruled that LinkedIn had violated Russia’s data protection laws. The specifics of the court ruling indicate that any company that keeps personal digital data of Russian citizens must do so on physical servers within the country....

The US Patent & Trademark Office published more patent applications today from Apple that indicated the company envisioned much more NFC capabilities than a Wallet app. The company apparently filed the applications between 2009 and 2010, and the graphics depict an iPhone interacting and controlling everything from a television and DVR to a standalone camera and a projector. Patently Apple detailed the patent applications: Related articles New iPhone prototypes have NFC chips and antenna – SlashGear (9to5mac....

Apple has been fined €10M ($11.3M) in Italy for what competition authorities say is the misuse of customer data. Google has been fined the same amount for the same thing. The fine was announced by the Italian competition regulator AGCM. It says that when a consumer creates an Apple ID, the iPhone maker doesn’t reveal that their personal data will be used by Apple to market its own services, as well as promote apps, music, and books....

Apple has published a Newsroom story today highlighting its Teacher Coding Academies and how the educators that are attending them are making an impact on their students and local communities. Apple’s Teacher Coding Academies are open to teachers from all levels and run during the summer. Apple notes that those who attended this year had a common goal of helping students learn to code and how to use the skill to make positive change....

The South China Morning Post is reporting that Apple is investigating reports that a Chinese flight attendant was fatally electrocuted when getting out of the bath to answer a call on her iPhone 5 while it was plugged into the charger. While the SCMP describes the phone as an iPhone 5, there are conflicting reports about the model. According to mainland media reports, Ma Ailun, a 23-year-old flight attendant with China Southern Airlines, was picking up her iPhone 5 to answer a call while the battery was being charged when she was electrocuted and killed … Although a report in Fortune says that “a cheap, third-party charger would seem to be ruled out by the report of Ma Ailun’s family that she was using genuine Apple parts,” we would observe that many extremely convincing counterfeit products originate in China, with numerous reports of electric shocks and fires resulting....