CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer says that strong performance by Apple and Tesla has led to a misleading impression of the performance of S&P 500 stocks. Cramer said that the S&P has grown more than 50% since its coronavirus low in March, but this is mostly due to the performance of tech giants, with Apple and Tesla particularly influential … Business Insider reports. Apple this week became the first ever publicly-traded company to hit a market cap of $2T, after doubling in value in just 21 weeks....

During Apple’s “Peek Performance” event Tuesday, there was a new Apple Arcade game subtly revealed. During the iPhone SE 3 announcement, there was a short clip of a racing game featured on the device. That game is Gear.Club Stradale, a social racing game where you can race luxury cars in Tuscany, Italy. Similar to the Forza Horizon franchise, Gear.Club Stradale lets you and your friends race luxury vehicles such as Ferrari, Bugatti, and Porshe across sprawling landscapes....

UPDATE: Workaround now available to restore access Thanks to an easy DNS hack called PlexConnect, non-jailbroken Apple TV users have been able to unofficially run the popular media server Plex on the second and third gen Apple TV since we first told you about it back in June. The hack, which required users to run an app on their Mac or PC that masquerades as the Trailers app, appears to be blocked in the latest Apple TV update pushed out this morning....

Apple MacArthur Center in Norfolk, Virginia will permanently close in the near future. The store originally opened in September 2006. In a statement issued to MacRumors, Apple confirmed the upcoming closure, although a specific date remains unannounced: MacArthur Center’s story parallels the downturn of countless malls not just due to the pandemic, but changing customer shopping trends. The mall has suffered a number of store closures in recent years. Apple hasn’t significantly updated is MacArthur Center store since it opened 14 years ago....

Apple is intent on stopping Samsung from marketing and selling “copycat” Galaxy devices in all of the European Union. Apple has already tried to ban the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in most of Europe (injunction lifted), but today they are going even farther with their legal proceedings, asking a Dutch court to ban all Galaxy series devices. The ban includes the widely popular Galaxy S II, which has seen some success in Europe....

Bloomberg reports that Apple has received preliminary approval for the $450 million lawsuit settlement reached over its ebook pricing practices. The settlement was first reached out of court about six weeks ago just before the case was set to go before a jury. Despite that development, Judge Cote in New York voiced concern over a clause in the settlement leading many to believe it may not receive approval, although she has since decided the settlement is appropriate....

Apple has launched a new resource for developers with six weeks of live virtual sessions. Topics include help using in-app events, custom offer codes, product page optimization, customer acquisition, and more. Check out all the details below along with how to register. Apple opened registration for the upcoming events on its Developer website today, here’s how it describes the new live virtual developer sessions: Apple is offering multiple sessions in several different languages with the virtual events including a live Q&A....

According to a new report from Digitimes Apple is ramping up their orders for touch-screens Q4 of 2010. Apple along with other companies will be putting their suppliers, TPK Touch Solutions and Wintek, in short touch-screen supply during the 4th Quarter. The report notes that these touch-screens will mainly be for “handsets” so there is room to specultate that these touch-screens are for a new iPhone launching in early 2011 or the 5th generation iPhone coming Summer 2011....

In a new development in its legal battle with Qualcomm, Apple is arguing that the patent deal which forces the company to pay a licence fee for every iPhone manufactured is invalid. It is accusing Qualcomm of double-dipping by charging once for a licence fee for use of its patented technology and again for the chip which uses that technology. Apple had previously accused Qualcomm of exacting revenge against the Cupertino company, but this is the first time it has specifically attacked the basis of the licence deal between the two companies …...

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced during the company’s Q2 earnings call this evening that he anticipates Apple Watch will launch in additional countries by late June. As of right now, Apple Watch is only available in 9 countries. A report earlier this month claimed that Apple would launch Watch in a second-wave of countries on May 8th, but we quickly debunked that rumor. Cook went on to say that Apple is quickly leaning about customer preferences when it comes to Apple Watch....

Last month, we heard Tim Cook share in an interview that he personally owns bitcoin and/or Ethereum while reiterating that Apple is “looking at” it but that the company does not have immediate plans to implement support for cryptocurrencies. The NYT report highlights that over $28 billion has been invested into crypto and blockchain startups around the world this year, which is 4x what was seen in 2020. Within two days, she said, more than 350 people — many from the biggest internet companies — had clicked the link to apply for jobs at the firm, Unstoppable Domains....

Apple today announced a minor update to Apple Cash, the company’s digital wallet that works with Apple Pay and iMessage. As of today, Instant Transfer on Apple Cash is compatible with Mastercard debit cards, but there are some other changes as well. In an email sent to Apple Card users on Thursday, Apple says users can now transfer money from their Apple Cash balance to a bank account using a Mastercard debit card and Instant Transfer....

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Apple has closed several of its retail stores around the world. It was only in June 2021 that all Apple Stores around the world were open simultaneously for the first time in 75 weeks, but now the company has once again decided to close some of its U.S. and Canada stores due to the new COVID-19 variant. As reported by Bloomberg, Apple temporarily closed its stores in Miami, Maryland, and Ottawa as a response to the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases....

Apple is currently involved in a legal battle with two former employees who are being charged with stealing trade secrets related to Project Titan. As that process continues, Reuters reports today that Apple is concerned the former employees might flee to China if they are given the opportunity. Xiaolang Zhang and Jizhong Chen, both Chinese-born, have been accused of stealing trade secrets related to Apple’s secretive “Project Titan” car initiative. Chen was charged back in January of this year, while Zhang was charged in July of 2018....

Apple has updated the homepage for Apple․com this weekend to honor Congressman John Lewis, who passed away on Friday at 80 years old. Apple’s new homepage foregoes all product promotion, instead showing a picture of Congressman Lewis alongside one of his quotes. Rep. Lewis was known for fighting for civil rights and equality throughout his entire life. He was elected congressman in 1986 and served as a stalwart for the civil rights movement....

One of Apple’s environmental goals was for its entire supply chain to be carbon-neutral by 2030. More than two years after the objective was announced, the company hints at being unhappy with progress, and has announced that it will now begin carrying out annual progress audits. In an implied threat to suppliers that aren’t showing sufficient movement toward this goal, Apple said that it “will partner with suppliers that are working with urgency and making measurable progress toward decarbonization” …...

This may not seem a huge deal to UK readers, but in the US health insurance is essential, while the kind of salary part-time and unemployed citizens attracts means access to the insurance and non-welfare health care is denied to these groups. IFOAppleStore (experts on matters in Apple retail), reports: “According to sources, the benefits now offered only to full-time employees, including those who work at the retail stores, will be offered to those working as few as 15 hours a week, which would include nearly all store employees....

Apple on Monday hired Antonio Garcia Martinez, a former Facebook executive, to join its App Store and Apple News Advertising team. However, following reports of misogynistic comments by Garcia Martinez, the company has just confirmed that he will no longer work at Apple. The former Facebook executive has been hired to work in the App Store and Apple News Advertising team, as he previously led important projects related to advertising at Facebook....

During a Twitter Space this evening, Elon Musk confirmed that Apple has “fully resumed advertising” on Twitter. This comes less than a week after Musk publicly shamed Apple for having “mostly stopped advertising on Twitter” and questioned if the company hated “free speech in America.” Apple never confirmed nor denied that it had stopped advertising on Twitter. There was also never any indication of whether a slowdown in advertising was due to Musk’s ownership of Twitter or just a general realignment at the end of the month....

Apple has hired Terry Gilton the founder of a small app company called pSiFlow to be their Senior Director of Sensor Technology. Dr. Gilton who has a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from UCSB joined Apple this month, though he is still listed as residing in Boise Idaho. His company, which makes apps for iOS is still listed as being active, so it isn’t clear if Apple purchased the company or just hired off its Founder/CEO....