At WWDC this week, Apple announced a handful of new features for AirPods Pro users, including Conversation Boost and Ambient Noise Reduction. Apple now says that, for the first time ever, it will offer a developer beta of AirPods Pro firmware for testing of these features. Apple made the announcement in the fine print of the Apple Developer Beta Software Downloads web page, first spotted by MacRumors. Apple says: While there is no date for when the first AirPods beta firmware will be available to developers, this will mark the first time that Apple has released beta software for its headphones....

According to a new report from TechCrunch, Apple is working to launch a new form for news consumption in iTunes. The company is apparently developing something it calls Spoken Editions, which are short clips that take writing from a variety of publishers and transform it into spoken word content… Spoken Editions were leaked on iTunes earlier today, though Apple has seemingly already pulled the evidence. According to today’s report, one of the companies Apple is working with for Spoken Editions is SpokenLayaer, which creates streaming audio and podcasts for a variety of different publications....

Apple just pushed out updates to Logic Pro 9 and Logic Express, bringing both up to version 9.1.8 and introducing a ton of fixes and performance enhancements. The update is also for the Mac App Store version of Logic Pro. Release notes for both below: About the Logic Pro 9.1.8 Update: General Additional content downloads now behave correctly when installing on OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion. Resolves an issue in which the Save As command sometimes resulted in an alert dialog in Logic 9....

While cryptography “done right” is largely unbreakable, not everyone uses cryptography properly. If a broken encryption algorithm is used or encoding is used in place of encryption, then an understanding of cryptography and cryptanalysis can be very useful in the real world. Applications of cryptanalysis in cybersecurity Cryptography is only secure if implemented properly. If loopholes exist or an insecure algorithm is used, then it is only good for obfuscating data, not protecting it against unauthorized exposure....

While Apple will be including a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter with the purchase of every iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the company will also be selling the adapter separately. Apple has listed the adapter on its website and it carries a surprisingly low price tag of $9. Apple says that the Lightning to 3.5mm adapter will work with all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models, but that iOS 10 is required....

Bloomberg noted today that Apple has updated the environmental report on its website to include new information for 2012. We reported in January that CEO Tim Cook had plans to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by the end of 2013, and Apple confirmed on Thursday it has now achieved 100 percent renewable energy at all of its data center. Apple also noted that it is investing in new methods to achieve 100 percent renewable energy throughout all of its corporate facilities worldwide....

[vodpod id=Video.16228867&w=650&h=350&fv=%26skin%3DMP1ExternalAll-MFL.swf%26embed%3Dtrue%26adSizeArray%3D1x1000%2C2x40%2C3x1000%26adSrc%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fad%252Edoubleclick%252Enet%252Fpfadx%252Flin%252Ekxan%252Fnews%252Fmetro%252Fregion%255F3%252Fdetail%253Bdcmt%253Dtext%252Fxml%253Bpos%253D%2525pos%2525%253Btile%253D2%253Bfname%253Dapples%252Dpitch%252Dgoes%252Dbefore%252Dcity%252Dcouncil%253Bloc%253D%2525loc%2525%253Bsz%253D%2525size%2525%253Bord%253D402961187297478340%253Frand%253D%2525rand%2525%26flv%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww%252Ekxan%252Ecom%252Ffeeds%252FoutboundFeed%253FobfType%253DVIDEO%255FPLAYER%255FSMIL%255FFEED%2526componentId%253D23704847%26img%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia2%252Ekxan%252Ecom%252F%252Fphoto%252F2012%252F03%252F15%252FCity%255FCouncil%255Fhears%255FApp791d1f42%252D7fc6%252D438e%252D8e34%252D0cf70e6e53040000%255F20120315072911%255F640%255F480%252EJPG%26story%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww%252Ekxan%252Ecom%252Fdpp%252Fnews%252Flocal%252Faustin%252Fapples%252Dpitch%252Dgoes%252Dbefore%252Dcity%252Dcouncil%26category%3Dlocal%26title%3DCity%2520Council%2520hears%2520Apple%2520plan%26oacct%3Ddpsdpskxan%2Cdpsglobal%26ovns%3Dfim%26headline%3DApple%2527s%2520pitch%2520goes%2520before%2520City%2520Council%26toggleVideoCode%3D3%26] Earlier this month, we told you Gov. Rick Perry announced plans to double the size of Apple’s workforce in Austin, Texas with an investment of $304 million that would add up to 3,600 jobs. Apple will receive $21 million in incentives over 10 years through the Texas Enterprise Fund as part of the deal. According several reports from KVUE News and Austin news website Statesman, Apple representatives met with Austin City Council officials today for a formal proposal....

While the Consumer Electronics Show only technically began today, the week so far has been full of companies announcing all sorts of accessories. We’ve covered some of it in detail already, but new offerings are coming in at such a fast pace it’s hard to keep track of it all. While Apple is not showcasing at CES 2016 itself, many of the top accessory makers are. This is the first year of CES during which the Apple Watch has been available to customers, so many accessory makers are capitalizing on that fact and announcing their own accessories for Apple’s wearable device....

As long as there has been an App Store, Apple has practiced strong discretion over which apps it approves and which it doesn’t allow on the iPhone and iPad. This has sometimes meant controversy for Apple, as its judgement is called into question when apps that were once approved are sometimes pulled for questionable reasons. Metadata+, an app that sends iPhone users alerts when a US drone strike leads to death, is the latest casualty, The Guardian reports…...

Apple has collaborated with revered artist and designer Hiroshi Fujiwara and his company fragment design on new pair of special edition Powerbeats Pro. This version comes with a minimal, monochromatic design on the black Powerbeats Pro. fragment design is well-known for its high-profile collaborations with companies like Nike/Jordan, TAG Heuer, and many more. Apple’s Beats is the latest to offer a special edition FRGMNT product with the black on black Powerbeats Pro....

Apple previously announced that it would be live streaming Thursday’s iPad and Mac event, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the company is pushing out an Apple TV channel to stream the video. It is a bit surprising, however, that the channel is already available at midnight Pacific time. It’s usually much later in the day that it appears. You can also stream the event from Apple’s website on a Mac or iOS device....

Apple has informed AppleCare representatives and Apple Retail that it has updated the Safari web browser’s built-in plugin blocker to disable older versions of Oracle’s Java 6 and 7 software. In recent days, a new Java vulnerability was discovered. The latest issue is described on the National Vulnerability Database: The issue could allow a hacker to input malicious code into a user’s web browser, and it has been rated as a flaw of “extreme importance....

Over the weekend, Apple and Stanford Medicine published the full results from the Apple Watch Heart Study. In conjunction with that publication, Apple’s VP of Health Dr. Sumbul Desai has offered additional detail in a new interview with Men’s Health. Results from the Apple Heart Study showed that 0.5 percent of the over 400,000 participants received an Apple Watch notification of irregular heart rhythm. Dr. Desai elaborated in this weekend’s interview on how Apple works to prevent false-positive notifications, while also offering more details on the results....

A neat new Apple Watch challenge is starting today in India and it looks to be one of the biggest we’ve seen to date. “Get Active India” is more than just a personal challenge with its goal of finding out which city in the country is the fittest. Reported by The Indian Express, the new Get Active India Apple Watch challenge starts today and runs through March 14. When users join the challenge, they’re not just competing on an individual level but rather representing their city to see which one comes out on top in the country-wide competition....

Apple has been ramping up its advertising for Apple Watch on social media going into the holidays, and today that’s continuing with new super short clips showcasing the Series 2 model in action. The premise is the same across each ad: someone unwraps a brand new Apple Watch Series 2 then instantly steps into action. Go Ride and Go Surf are the latest to join the continuing collection, one focusing on cycling with the other on surfing....

We already exclusively revealed that the name of the iPhone X successor is the iPhone Xs, but another leak from Apple’s website reportedly confirms the names of the other models … Allthings.how found the names in a product sitemap file, which shows the three iPhone model names. The only thing not revealed is whether Apple uses upper or lower case for the S. iPhone Xs (or XS) iPhone Xs Max (or XS Max) iPhone Xr (or XR) The site found the names in links to cases....

According to Anthony Morganti Apple has been so inspired and excited by the latest stream of iPad-optimized magazine applications that they are now working on a magazine-app template for use by developers in Xcode. Apple’s goal is for any company, essentially, who wants their magazine in digital form for the iPad can have it done. The template will supposedly also allow developers to easily implement back issues and the new in-app-subscription service....

AppleCare+ for iPhone was refreshed after Apple’s event yesterday, and so was the protection plan for aluminum Apple Watch Series 4 models. Since 2015, AppleCare+ for the aluminum models has been $49, this year it’s seeing an increase. The changes to AppleCare+ for iPhone brought a new option to add theft and loss coverage for an extra fee. For the first time Apple is also letting customers pay for the protection plan monthly, although at a higher price than paying up front....

Update #2: AT&T’s official statement: AT&T GoPhone prepaid service is now available in Apple Retail stores. Prepaid service is also available for iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 4S in AT&T and Cricket Wireless stores and online at att.com and at cricketwireless.com. Update: A contact has confirmed that AT&T’s prepaid GoPhone plans are also supported by iPhones at Apple Retail Store locations as we previously reported to expect… Following our report earlier this month that Apple was preparing to begin selling iPhones with prepaid plans through its retail stores, today T-Mobile confirmed iPhones with its prepaid service can now be purchased and activated in Apple stores across the country....

Tim Cook noted during Monday’s earnings call that Apple was “investing like crazy” in China, but he took the opportunity of his current visit to the country to put a specific number on the company’s retail expansion plans: it will open 25 new Apple Stores in Greater China within the next two years. Greater China includes both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Speaking to local media, Cook also said that China would in time become Apple’s biggest market, reports the WSJ … The paper was able to confirm with Apple that Cook said:...