Apple just posted a document detailing exact availability of iTunes Match and iTunes in the Cloud internationally. There was some confusion leading up to what many reported as the international rollout of iTunes Match, and Apple even began issuing refunds to abroad customers having issues accessing the service. According to Apple, iTunes Match is now available in the following 17 countries: There are some countries not included in Apple’s list of officially supported countries, such as Brazil where users report having access to the service....

Bear with us. We understand that recruitment isn’t necessarily the most engaging story, but let’s take a quick look at this. Firstly, Apple has hired Charnas to lead its corporate department, filling a role that hasn’t been occupied for seven years. In his new post, Charnas will oversee Apple’s intellectual property and strategic acquisitions. We accept that Apple’s IP effort may need an extra hand as the company files patent after patent in order to secure and develop its iPhone....

Update: Apple has also increased the price of Macs in Australia by AUD $80-$200, depending on the model. Mexico and Thailand have seen similar price increases, as well. The same week as it increased the price of apps in Australia, Indonesia and Sweden, Apple today has raised the prices of its Mac line in a handful of countries. The company has increased the prices of its MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and Mac mini in Brazil, Norway, New Zealand, and Malaysia to account for the fluctuation of foreign currency against the United States dollar....

This wasn’t discussed much in the official announcement, but the iPad mini 4 is a pretty nice step above its predecessor with enhancements in a few key areas that definitely make a difference. The major things you need to know about with this iPad mostly falls in line with Apple’s upgrade patterns: thinner, lighter, faster. Though there are some performance differences at play as well… Apple has upgraded the internal specifications to include the A8 processor and M8 motion co-processor with 2GB of RAM, which is a step up over the A7 and 1GB of RAM found in the iPad mini 3....

A new collaboration between Apple and celebrated photographer Christopher Anderson aims to change the way you think about photography. Beginning soon, Apple Stores will offer a new Today at Apple Photo Lab with a focus on portraits. The lab is the latest in a series of special in-store sessions designed with iconic voices in the creative community. Christopher Anderson is a member of the cooperative Magnum Photos and has been widely recognized for his photography in conflict zones....

Android may have the raw numbers, but iPhone users have always been the ones to make the most use of their phones – from web browsing through enterprise to paid apps. Mobile analytics company Flurry reports that one Android brand has finally caught up – but only in China. It’s no coincidence that the brand is Xiaomi. The company, and its CEO, has blatantly copied Apple’s marketing approach in every way from product launches right the way down to the Steve Jobs style clothing of the company’s founder....

A new patent granted to Apple today reveals some of the potential new features we could see in future AirPods. The most interesting part of the filing involves interchangeable earbuds equipped with “at least one” biometric sensor, which could detect left/right ear placement and accordingly adjust audio. Apple has long been in pursuit of ‘a golden bud’ to fit all ears. At the initial keynote when AirPods were first introduced back in 2016, Apple specifically mentioned the lengths they went to find the most universal fitting bud shape....

App Store Search Ads started in 2016, right around the time that Apple announced a financial target to double Services revenue by 2020 (it would go on to easily beat that goal). At the time, Search Ads were sold only in the United States. Apple would quickly expand the ad service internationally. More than five years on, the company is now releasing App Store Search Ads in China, as first reported by blog AppInChina....

Apple’s car plans appear to have hit yet another snag. Tonight the NYTimes is reporting that Apple is again rebooting the now infamous car project. 2016 has been an abysmal year for Apple’s car project if you believe the various reports from top news agencies. A timeline of Apple Car developments this year: Steve Zadesky who originally headed the Apple Car project left 8 months ago. The WSJ reported 2 months ago that Bob Mansfield the legendary Apple hardware boss who built the iPhone and led Apple’s ultra-successful hardware manufacturing business up until a few years ago would be taking over the project....

Apple is holding another one of its ‘Lose your wallet’ Apple Pay shopping events this month. According to the company’s website, shoppers in a handful of New York City areas will be able to lock in exclusive discounts when they shop using Apple Pay… Apple says shoppers in Greenwich Village, Nolita, Park Slope, and Williamsburg will be able to score the exclusive deals. For Greenwich Village shoppers, the offers are available from June 15th through June 17th....

According to documents published on the website of Access (formerly PalmSource), Apple has licensed patents from the portfolios of several former technology companies including some from Palm/PalmSource which were originally bought by HP. Access appears to own patents from Palm, Bell Communications Research and Geoworks and has licensed them to Apple for 1B Yen. Microsoft previously took out a license on these same ‘foundational patents’. It was revealed that Steve Jobs had a heated email exchange with then Palm CEO Ed Colligan where he said Palm’s patents were essentially worthless....

According to Bloomberg, Apple lost a lawsuit against VirnetX in a Texas courtroom late this evening and ordered to pay $368.2 million in damages. VirnetX sued Apple for infringing on its collection of network patents that Apple has been accused of incorporating into products like FaceTime. VirnetX was originally asking for upward of $900 million, but the jury decided on lesser damages this evening. Additionally, the patent holding company has similar cases pending against Cisco and Avaya....

Adding to its list of recent hires, Apple has tapped a former Hewlett-Packard executive to tackle sales of its products to corporations. According to Re/code, John Solomon left his former leadership role at HP to start his new position at Apple and may be involved with international sales of the upcoming Apple Watch in the future. Solomon’s LinkedIn profile points to a long career with HP, most recently serving as SVP of Printing & Personal Systems then General Manager of HP’s Consumer Printing Global Business Unit, departing the company in December 2014 and joining a “to be announced” company this month....

Apple’s long-standing request to open its own retail stores in India looks likely to be approved by the Indian government after Chinese brand Oppo was granted permission. Apple products are currently sold locally by authorized resellers. The Indian government only allows single-brand retail stores when at least 30% of the products sold are manufactured in the country. As the iPhone accounts for a high percentage of Apple’s sales, with the SE a popular model in India because of its relative affordability, it seems likely that the requirement will be hit thanks to local manufacturing of the model …...

Apple might have dropped from #38 to #88 this year on Fortune’s list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies published today, but it’s also making the list for its 8th consecutive year. That means Apple has now been on the list more than any other company and also has the longest streak of consecutive appearances. There aren’t a lot of other high profile tech companies that made the list, but a couple notables include Baidu at #46 and Tivo at #73....

It’s still hard to get used to seeing Apple discounting its products, but after iPhone and HomePod, the company has reduced the price of Apple Music in India to undercut its rivals. Apple cuts its streaming music subscription rates just weeks after Spotify and YouTube Premium became available in India for the first time … Indian Express reports that the new individual subscription has fallen to the equivalent to $1.43 per month....

Apple’s autonomous vehicle program is no secret within the tech industry. While the company has yet to confirm anything, information regarding the project has been leaking consistently over the past several years. Today, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has confirmed (via macReports) that Apple now has 70 vehicles and 139 drivers permitted to test autonomous vehicles, up from 66 vehicles and 111 drivers back in July. While Apple is permitted to test autonomous vehicles, it doesn’t have a driverless car permit, meaning the company is still required to have a driver in the car just in case of emergencies....

New patents granted to Apple today reveal some of the possible problems its now-fabled AirPower mat might have needed to resolve before its public release, including what Apple calls a “magnetic vision system”. Recently, we’ve been hearing reports of AirPower hitting the production stage, however, with Apple still tight-lipped on the product since last year, today’s patents offer another glimmer of hope. The patents, revealed by PatentlyApple, details how AirPower has what’s being referred to as a “magnetic vision system”, designed to prevent AirPower from being permanently damaged from foreign metal objects making contact with the mat....

Apple plans to premiere original movies in theaters before they release on Apple TV+, according to a new report. This strategy would keep Apple one step ahead of competitors as the Streaming Wars intensify. Last March, Apple officially announced Apple TV+. The $5 per month streaming service will launch on November 1, and feature high-budget original series such The Morning Show, See, and For All Mankind. Hailee Steinfeld headlines the unique historical series Dickinson, and M....

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect....