Apple recently uploaded two new Apple Music advertisements to its U.K. YouTube channel. The ads shared were previously debuted during the Brit Awards last month and highlight the Best British Male and Best British Female award categories. Both of the new advertisements are narrated by Apple Music’s U.K. head Julie Adenuga. The ads are fast paced, quickly switching between different artists. The ads also highlight specific Apple Music features such as Beats 1, curated playlists, and more....

Apple this week has begun rolling out its Apple Maps Connect feature to a trio of new countries: Italy, Switzerland, and Mexico. Apple Maps Connect allows business owners to alter their business listing on Apple Maps for OS X and iOS as well as add their businesses to the platform. The additions are noted on the portal, while Apple has also begun emailing users. Business listing updates can take about a week....

The Apple online store went down last night for a short while. It appears Apple made some minor tweaks, including the ability to receive text message notifications on orders. Apple is now displaying the following text in several sections of the online store in at least Canada and the United States: “Now get order status updates by text message.” Apple explained on its website that the new feature is an option during the checkout process, and it is available to the following supported carriers: Alltel, AT&T, Boost Mobile, Cricket, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, U....

Apple today issued its Preliminary Proxy Statement via its Investor Relations website. As a publicly traded company, Apple issues this document annually, and it discusses pay packages for both executive team members and board members, company practices, and topics which shareholders will vote on at the upcoming shareholder meeting. Apple says that the next shareholder meeting will take place on February 28, 2014. Some interesting tidbits include that Apple’s board met seven times in 2013 with 75%+ attendance during each meeting....

Apple is emailing customers in nine states that offer sales tax holidays to let them know they have an upcoming opportunity to buy Macs and/or accessories tax-free. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina and Tennessee all offer dates on which you can buy at least some Apple gear free from sales tax. The email provides a link to a webpage where you can click on your state to find out the dates, qualifying products and the maximum spend....

A week following Apple’s $200 million acquisition of Seattle-Based machine learning and AI company Turi, GeekWire is now reporting that Apple is looking to dramatically expand its presence in the state. Currently, Apple occupies less than two floors of an office tower in downtown Seattle. This expansion, however, could see Apple occupy “several hundred thousand square feet” of space. According to “real estate insiders” and other sources, Apple is looking at properties in downtown Bellevue, one being the 16-story Centre 425 building....

According to CNET, sources familiar with current negotiations between Apple and record labels claim Apple is currently trying to secure international music licenses related to iCloud. The report even suggests an announcement could be made at the iPhone media event on October 4th if a deal is reached before then. If CNET’s source is to be believed, countries slated to benefit from the licenses include Germany, France, and the UK. The licenses will apparently be similar to those in place with U....

The Smart Connector Apple introduced on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and used again on the latest 9.7-inch model, may become more capable over time. An Apple patent granted today reveals possible plans to allow multiple devices to be simultaneously connected to the port, using stacked connectors. Interestingly, while the much-loved MagSafe power connector was removed in the 12-inch MacBook, it seems that Apple hasn’t altogether abandoned the idea, as the patent describes using magnetic retention to stack the plugs – with one drawing showing what looks very much like a MagSafe Lightning plug …...

Apple has been allowed to retain iPad Mini as a trademark, but must now add small-print to indicate that it is not claiming exclusive rights to the term ‘Mini’ (via MacRumors). The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had originally refused Apple the trademark on the basis that the term ‘Mini’ was simply descriptive, but this objection has now been withdrawn on condition that the company adds a disclaimer. The disclaimer requirement may be an attempt to bring some sanity back to trademark wars: while Apple already holds the trademark to iPad, it’s unclear what benefit there is in trademarking ‘iPad mini’ specifically....

Apple, meanwhile, is seemingly the only major streaming service not planning to appeal. Under this ruling, streaming services will be required to pay songwriters and publishers 15.1 percent of revenue, up from 10.5 percent. According to the report, Apple will not appeal the ruling, making it the only major streaming service to take such a stance: Apple’s stance on the issue has earned it praise from some in the songwriting industry....

Time Magazine is out with its annual list of the “100 Most Influential Companies.” This year’s rankings have a variety of categories from “pioneers,” “innovators,” “disruptors,” to “leaders.” And Apple has earned a spot on the list for “doubling down on defining products.” Time features Apple under the “leaders” category for the new 100 Most Influential Companies list and highlights its record-breaking holiday 2020 quarter as well as strong Mac and iPad sales during the pandemic....

Apple TV+ has inked another exclusive deal for a prominent producer. Variety reports that Carmi Zlotnik has signed an exclusive producer deal with Apple TV+, just days after he stepped down from his position at Starz. Zlotnik oversaw the development and production of numerous TV shows during his 10 years at Starz, where he served as the president of programming. Variety recaps some of his work: Prior to his time at Starz, Zlotnik worked as head of operations for global media at IMG and served as an executive at HBO....

In March, Apple officially debuted its Apple Arcade game subscription service. Ahead of a launch later this year, the company is working to court potential developers to be included in the subscription service. On the Apple Arcade developer website, Apple has offered developers the ability to pitch their games since March. Today, however, the company has taken things up a notch and is now pitching developers via email. In the email, Apple says:...

Reuters reports that Apple is working on significantly increasing the number of artificial intelligence specialists it employs as it works to make Siri smarter, but that the company’s commitment to user privacy imposes constraints. Machine learning relies heavily on large-scale data-crunching to figure out what users are likely to want to know. But while Google analyses the data of Android users en-masse, Apple’s approach to privacy means that far less data is sent from the iPhone to its servers, making it more challenging to increase Siri’s intelligence … Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering, said of iOS 9 that it was “adding intelligence throughout the user experience in a way that enhances how you use your device but without compromising your privacy....

Apple is partnering with Akamai, Etsy, and Swiss Re to develop two new wind and solar energy farms in Illinois and Virginia. The new project is planned to produce 290 megawatts to the PJM electric grid, serving major parts of the Eastern United States. The collective group, with the help from 3Degrees, will be purchasing 125 megawatts from a wind farm near the Chicago area, and 165 megawatts from a solar PV project in Virginia....

With permission from Apple, The Computer History Museum and the Digibarn Computer Museum announced today it is publishing the original DOS source code for Apple’s 1978 Apple II. The Apple II was the first fully assembled computer with a monitor that Apple sold following the Apple I and originally retailed for $1298 for the base model with just 4K of memory. A blog post from The History Computer Museum explains that Apple contracted Paul Laughton of Shepardson Microsystems to write the Disk Operating System for the Apple II in just seven weeks....

Strategy Analytics paints a grim picture for Apple on the Indian Subcontinent. The world’s third-largest smartphone market after China and the US is not taking to the iPhone in meaningful numbers. In fact, sales dropped significantly — 35 percent — in Q2 2016 to just 800,000 iPhones sold vs. 1.2 million in the same quarter a year ago. Clearly, the launch of the cheapest iPhone ever, the iPhone SE, wasn’t a big winner in India....

Apple is apparently contacting some developers who didn’t get a chance to purchase tickets, offering them a second chance. Red Sweater Software’s Daniel Jalkut speculates that tickets are being offered to those who had the item in their cart, but were unable to purchase due to the record 180 second sellout. Huh. Voicemail from Apple: “We’re just calling to let you know that we actually do have a ticket available for you for this year’s WWDC....

Apple has rolled out the new iCloud.com beta website for registered iOS and Mac developers. The new website was leaked prior to WWDC and is accessible at beta.icloud.com. The new iCloud.com beta does not include many changes, but Notes and Reminders applications have been built for the web. Also included is a new Find my iPhone and an improved Calendar application. (Via MacRumors). After the break, we have added a screenshot tour of the new iCloud....

The Apple Card owner can invite other people to share their card and track everyone’s spending on the Wallet app. The code also suggests that the Daily Cash will also be available for family members. The card owner can set a spending limit for each invited user. Once this feature is available, Apple Card can be shared with family members who are 13 or older, and there will be dedicated options for parents to control their children’s spending....