Apple Car rumors have been slow for the past couple of months. Today, a story from MacReports says the company has increased the number of self-driving cars but decreased by almost half the number of drivers licensed to drive these cars. As of today, Apple has 68 self-driving test cars, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. In November of 2018, the company reached a peak of 72 cars, then a few months later, it was 66 operating vehicles....

Some podcasters are reporting that they are seeing a steep decline in listenership, specifically when using Apple’s Podcast Analytics tool. In an email to podcast creators today, Apple says that it is aware of the issue and is currently investigating it as “they do not match playback data in Podcast Analytics.” Apple also says that shows submitted between November 16 through the 26, as well as December 21, 2018 through January 2, 2019 will see a delay longer than the typical 5 business days....

Apple also fixed security vulnerabilities in iOS 10.2, which span accessibility, accounts, Find my iPhone, graphics drivers, image capture, local authentication, mail, media player, profiles, and springboard. Of note are some nasty sounding exploits that could potentially cause a denial of service from a maliciously crafted video, arbitrary code being executed from a malicious certificate, and a few holes that let people with physical access to your phone access some content without unlocking the screen....

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Apple News is gaining its first-ever editor-in-chief, according to a new report from Politico. Lauren Kern will take on the newly created role at Apple after serving in prominent positions at both The New York Times Magazine and New York Magazine. While Apple News doesn’t produce original content, editorial decisions are made from staff about which stories to promote and feature in various sections including News Editors’ Picks and News Top Stories....

While those of us who would happily trade thinner iPhones for better battery-life may be in the minority, even fans of ultra-thin phones expressed disappointment at the camera bump in the iPhone 6 and 6s. The problem Apple faced is that the laws of physics determine just how thin you can make a sensor and lens arrangement for any given aperture while retaining quality. But a patent application originally filed in 2013, continued last July and granted today could provide a solution....

Apple Park is getting closer to an official opening as the company begins hiring staff for the visitor center that will include an Apple Store and, for the first time, a cafe that’s also open to the public. Apple announced back in February that it would begin moving in employees to its new Apple Park headquarters in April ahead of completion, but we noted earlier this month the area is still fenced off and appears to mostly be under construction....

Apple Maps has made slight adjustments to better promote things like food delivery and medical services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple’s adjustments follow similar changes made by Google Maps, though Apple does not go as far in its efforts. As first spotted by iPhone Ticker, Apple has adjusted the order of Apple Maps categories. Grocery stores are now featured at the top, followed by a new category for Food Delivery. Other categories that are less practical during the COVID-19 outbreak have been shifted downwards....

Just off the wires, Apple is more than doubling its capital returns citing its inability to stop making more money than it can spend to “operate the business, invest in our future, and maintain flexibility to take advantage of strategic opportunities.” As part of this program, Apple’s board has increased its share repurchase authorization to $60 billion from the $10 billion level announced last year. This is the largest single share repurchase authorization in history and is expected to be executed by the end of calendar 2015....

In case you weren’t tuned in to the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards last night (it’s okay, I missed them too), Apple has shared its two-part Apple Music promo video that ran during the music awards show on Sunday night. Both clips together run two minutes in total and feature hip-hop artist The Weeknd (who performed at Apple’s 2015 WWDC) plus a cameo from actor John Travolta in one. Aside from pushing the Apple Music three-month free trial in front of MTV’s audience, the promo shows The Weeknd using the Beats 1 radio station and Apple Music to create a playlist to post on the artist activity portal Connect....

Apple’s controversial U2 album giveaway is about to wrap up as the record is only scheduled to be free through October 13th, and the company is sharing some numbers about the promotion to celebrate. Apple SVP of Internet Software & Services Eddy Cue told Billboard that more than 81 million customers ‘experienced songs’ from U2’s Songs of Innocence album either through plays or streams over iTunes, iTunes Radio, or Beats Music where the album was exclusively available to users....

An Apple patent published today describes how Siri could interject in iMessage chats to do things like help schedule meetings based on the location and availability of chat participants. In one illustration, when one chat participant asks ‘How long ’til you guys get here?’ Siri interjects by checking everyone’s location and then answering the question. In another, a chat participant asks Siri when the group could get together for lunch, and it checks each of their diaries to offer slots when all are free …...

Just after coming to a surprise settlement with Qualcomm yesterday, Apple has been hit with another lawsuit. The latest is a class-action suit filed by an employees’ retirement fund and claims that Apple committed securities fraud with how it handled information about its iPhone sales. As reported by The Mercury News, the City of Roseville employees’ retirement fund filed the lawsuit against Apple saying that the company knew back in November last year that iPhone sales weren’t going as expected, but were telling a different story to investors....

Alongside the introduction of iOS 13, Apple has significantly updated its Design Resources with new tools for developers and designers that will help create consistent, usable, and visually pleasing apps. One of the biggest additions is a brand new set of configurable symbols and a companion macOS app called SF Symbols. SFSymbols is a set of over 1,000 consistent and highly configurable symbols that was designed to integrate with Apple’s system font, San Francisco....

Back in June Apple faced off against a Mexican telecom over the trademarked word “iFone.” In that case, the iFone telecommunications company argued that Apple had infringed its trademark with the iPhone. A court ruled that because telecom services and telephone hardware aren’t the same product, there should be no confusion among consumers about which is which. Unfortunately for mobile carriers in the country, because they do offer telecommunications services, they were barred from using the name “iPhone” in marketing materials....

Yes, the Apple iPhone XS battery case is compatible with the Apple X device, though Apple says it’s not compatible, so what’s the story here. Well, reports in the claim the new $129 Smart Battery Case made for the iPhone XS is compatible with last year’s iPhone X flagship as well. Just yesterday, it looked like Apple had left their old loyal customers from their minds when they announced the new battery cases for their new iPhone line-up of iPhone XS, XS Max and XR respectively....

Apple has opened pre-orders on a new exclusive album on the iTunes Store, titled “Dance (RED) Save Lives, Vol. 2”. The album, which is expected to debut on November 25th, is in support of the Global Fund, with 100% of proceeds being donated to the cause. Apple promoted Volume 1 of the album last year, with proceeds benefiting the same cause. Notable artists who have tracks featured on the album include Katy Perry, Coldplay, Robin Thicke, and Calvin Harris....

Apple quickly mentioned some improvements to Podcasts on stage at WWDC yesterday. Now, the company has outlined some additional improvements for Podcasts in iOS 13 in an email to creators and via its developer website. In an email to Podcast Providers this afternoon, Apple outlined enhancements coming to Podcasts search, which it also mentioned on stage yesterday. For instance, when a user searches in Podcasts, the search will also look for the term in transcripts....

The HomePod today launches in three new regions, bringing Apple’s smart speaker to Canada, France and Germany. The smart speaker offers leading sound quality for its size class, with native Siri voice control for Apple Music ($9.99 per month) and smart assistant tasks like controlling HomeKit accessories, checking the weather and more. HomePod understands French and German languages, alongside the new country rollouts. Apple will be adding support for Canadian French later this year....

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple today that covers various methods of detecting a user’s presence and augmenting the user experience accordingly. Apple has covered face recognition and presence detection systems in various patent applications in the past, notably for multi-user logins, security features, and an Android-like face unlock feature. Today’s patent application covers even more implementations of Apple’s presence detection technology that would utilize ultrasonic sensors, microwave radar, and camera and audio systems to detect and identify the user....