Apple has today released a (PRODUCT)RED version of its iPhone 6s Leather Case, available to buy now from Apple.com with Wednesday shipping. The omission of the color was odd back in September, as the Silicone Case was offered in (PRODUCT)Red since the iPhone 6s launch. Apple has just about got stock of the item in time for the holidays, if you still happen to be hunting for an official red iPhone case (there are plenty of third-party red iPhone cases available)....

Apple is among nine technology companies chosen by the United States Food and Drug Administration to test a new pilot program that could allow health products to be developed and released with less delay. This could allow Apple to use the Apple Watch and iPhone for medical uses that would previously require a longer approval process which slows down deployment. Bloomberg reports that the FDA made the announcement today: Under the pilot, the FDA will scrutinize digital health companies’ software and will inspect their facilities to ensure they meet quality standards and can adequately track their products once they’re on the market....

Earlier this month, we reported that Apple would soon introduce significant changes to its online AppleCare support portals. In line with our report, Apple has begun rolling out a redesigned AppleCare website to provide support and has also begun rolling out 24/7 live chat support. The new AppleCare website is easier for users to follow and it groups product categories in more understandable fashion. The new support site also makes it simpler for customers to identify the exact issues with their device....

Dialog has been part of the Apple supply chain for some time, but has faced financial uncertainty amidst rumors Apple is developing its own power management chips. In an interesting turn of events this morning, Apple and Dialog announced a new business agreement where Apple will license power management technology from Dialog, in exchange for an upfront $300 million payment and another $300 million in purchase agreements over the next three years....

According to Bloomberg, Apple is currently in negotiations with major music labels regarding some major enhancements they are planning to bring to iTunes by mid-2011. These enhancements are said to focus around an “unlimited” download approach (with help from Lala?) so users can instantly re-download lost or damaged music titles. The potential changes, that Apple is working on with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp., and EMI Group Ltd, would also allows users to re-download songs, on the same Apple ID account, on multiple devices....

The iPhone and Apple Watch Series 2 are scheduled to go up for pre-order later this evening and ahead of that, the Apple Online Store has gone down. Apple generally always takes down its online store before events and product launches in order to build suspense. Like normal, Apple’s website teases that the company has “something special” in store for customers: The Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are slated to go up for pre-order at 12:01AM PT/3:01AM ET....

Apple has opened a subsidiary company in Vietnam, its fastest-growing iPhone market, reports Reuters. The company will ‘conduct wholesale business,’ read: directly import and distribute iPhones within the country. Apple tripled its sales in Vietnam in the first half of last year – a higher growth rate than in either China or India, though of course among a far smaller population. Apple Vietnam Limited Liability was established on Oct. 28 with a registered capital of 15 billion dong ($672,194), according to a news announcement recorded on Vietnam’s national business registry website....

When you get a new electronic device, and you are new to that gadget. Then some sort of problems start from the initial setup and follow you in your every step. In the case of smartphones, if you are an Android user and switch to an Apple device, for example, iPhone 8 then you might not know how to set it up properly and can face several issues while using the device....

Apple has hired Stella Low, a former Cisco executive, as the company’s new vice president of worldwide corporate communications. Low joins Apple to lead its communications team, which is responsible for the company’s public relations operations. Low’s hiring was confirmed by Apple on Friday to BuzzFeed News. The company said that the executive has “remarkable experience and leadership” and expects she will help Apple tell the stories about the “positive impacts” the company has on the world....

As it continues to expand its health efforts, Apple has hired Stanford’s digital health leader, Dr. Sumbul Desai. As noted by Internet Health Management, Desai was the head of Stanford’s Center for Digital Health and will join Apple’s ever-growing health team… The Stanford Center for Digital Health was only opened in January of this year, though Desai has worked at the university since 2008. She began as a resident physician of internal medicine and later held the roles of medical director, strategic innovations; assistant chief, strategy; clinical associate professor; associate chief medical officer, strategy and innovation; and vice chair, strategy and innovation....

Apple today has released its latest transparency report, showing the number of government demands for user data it received. In the past, Apple has released this data in the form of a PDF, and while that still remains an option this time, the company has also launched a new interactive website to view the information. As reported by TechCrunch, Apple’s latest transparency report covers January through June of 2018. During that time period, Apple received a total of 32,342 demands for user data from governments, which is up 9 percent compared to the last reporting period....

In the past, Apple was able to sneak Liquidmetal into production by building the SIM ejector tool using the material. Now, it looks like Apple and Liquidmetal Technologies’ joint venture company, Crucible Intellectual Property, is preparing for mass volume production through manufacturing techniques found in a new patent called “Bulk amorphous alloy sheet forming processes”. Since the metal is expensive, liquidmetal won’t be replacing the aluminum shells of iOS or OS X devices anytime soon....

Apple, after reportedly being involved in early negotiations for the film, has put Sony’s “The Interview” up for streaming on iTunes. Apple is offering the film at the same price as Google, YouTube, and Xbox video – $6 to rent and $15 to own. Sony announced last week, that due to a lack of support from theaters and threats made by cyber hackers, it would not be releasing “The Interview” in theaters or online....

Apple has announced that it is officially launching the ability for developers to sell Mac and iOS apps as a single purchase. Apple first detailed these plans back in February, teasing that the functionality would roll out to developers in March. Apple made the announcement in a post on its developer website this evening: As we explained last month, the developer simply must change their Mac app to use the same bundle identifier as their iOS app....

In partnership with the Israel Tech Challenge, Apple is co-hosting an event at its Israel headquarters to discuss a new Design Verification Engineering course. This course will be a ten month-long program. The event will be hosted by Rony Friedman, VP at Apple and the manager of the Apple Israel R&D Center. Rani Ayalon, Verification Manager at Apple’s Israel R&D Center will also be speaking along with ITC staff. 4 months of intensive classroom training in ITC’s international campus in Tel Aviv: Frontal lectures, industry workshops, group projects, guided self-study and more....

Apple is rolling out an important software update which brings the iOS 11.4.1 to various of its devices. Latest update from the smartphone giant weighs 225.2 MB. It brings reliability improvement for syncing of notes, emails, and contacts with exchange accounts. Users have been reporting of not being able to find the last known location of their airpods. After updating the latest iteration of iOS 11.4.1 this bug apparently resolves....

In addition to releasing the first iOS 9.3.3 developer beta, Apple has issued OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Developer Beta 1 through the Mac App Store. The first pre-release version is available to developer testers and features build number 15G7a (up from 15F34 on the public version). The latest OS X beta is relatively small at roughly 600MB but does require a restart to complete installation. Release notes appear outdated, however, as they specifically mention OS X 10....

Leading up to the unveiling of a new lower-cost plastic ‘iPhone 5C’ expected at Apple’s September 10 event next month, Apple is looking to hire an “experienced plastics material engineer” to work on iPhones and iPads. The engineer would join Apple’s iPhone/iPad Materials team and must have “extensive experience in plastic material properties, part design and fabrication.” While we know the current iPhone and iPads do use some internal plastic parts, the job listing also makes mentions of aesthetic requirements as well as experience in “plastic materials and design for manufacturing in terms of geometry and cosmetic quality....

Earlier this year Apple was hit with a class action lawsuit over FaceTime being disabled on older iPhones that can’t run iOS 7, and this week an attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed has failed. Reuters reports that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh made the decision not to dismiss the lawsuit… Apple’s decision to stop supporting FaceTime on the iPhone 4 was a result of a patent lawsuit it lost against VirnetX which resulted in Apple switching to a cheaper method to support the video calling feature....

The cases are priced at $129 for all three phones. Further, the iPhone XS/Max/XR Smart Battery cases are available in white and black. Apple touts that the new Smart Battery case for the iPhone XS adds 33 additional hours of talk time, 21 hours of internet use, and 25 hours of video. The iPhone XS Max case adds 37 hours of talk time, 20 hours of internet, and 25 hours of video playback....