It’s clear that Apple has been serious about health over the past several years, especially with devices such as the Apple Watch literally saving lives. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been fairly public about the company wanting to change the world with its health initiatives. Today, Apple VP of Health Dr. Sumbul Desai sat down with MobiHealthNews to talk more about Apple’s foray into health. When asked about the new ECG feature found in Apple Watch Series 4, Desai says that it’s in a physician’s nature to be concerned about how this will effect the medical community....

After a minor mid-year refresh with new bands and models earlier this year, a full-fledged Apple Watch 2 upgrade is expected to arrive in the coming months. Here’s what we know so far… New Features | There has long been speculation about whether or not Apple Watch 2 would include cellular connectivity to allow for independence from the iPhone. New features reportedly planned for Apple Watch will allow you to do more with the device without being tethered to your iPhone, but it won’t become entirely independent....

Apple TV+ today announced a multi-year deal with activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. The company said Malala will create original content for the service — under her production company Extracurricular — across all genres; documentary, drama, kids series and animation. This is the latest in a long line of overall deals Apple has signed with high-profile celebrities and creators. Yousafzai joins names such as Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, and Alfonso Cuaron, as part of the Apple TV+ umbrella....

We’re all aware that the system can now generate Genius playlists based on a selected track – that feature’s been widely-reported. But it doesn’t stop there – system handling of music videos has at last been improved, in order that users can simply hit a button and the music videos will play one after another. That’s significant because until now you had to initiate playback on each music video manually....

A Korean report claims that an Apple Watch blood sugar sensor will be included in the Series 7 device, when it is launched later this year. With health applications a major selling point of the Apple Watch, it has long been expected that the Cupertino company would want to expand its medical capabilities … Background When Apple first launched the Apple Watch, the company primarily marketed it as a convenient way to view and respond to notifications....

From day one, Apple has always wanted their Apple Watches to be more than just smartphone gadget or wearable to adorn the wrist. Yes, back when Apple released their first Watch, they did not have the technology to make it a life-saving device, but now that the FDA has cleared the ECG monitor, the device is going to be more than just a wearable. Now, looks like Apple has no intention to stop and have made a partnership with a major health-care company who have been in work with Apple since 2017, finally unveiled by Aetna’s help....

It certainly appears that Apple is working on and prototyping an instant messaging client for future version of iPhone OS. Text strings found in the latest iPhone OS 3.2 beta appear to reference “ChatKit” which was an Objective-C based IM client framework developed by Adium but since left for dead. The strings found in the SDK reveal that a future IM client developed by Apple might allow users to send pictures (similar to iChat) and would have a similar interface to the included Messages (SMS and MMS) app on the iPhone....

Apple responded to recent inquiries about the lack of diversity among the emoji characters that ship with iOS, saying that the company is working with the Unicode Consortium to remedy that. Apple first introduced native support for the Emoji character set on the iPhone with iOS 5. A few character additions shipped with iOS 6, but that was the last update mostly because they’re based on a cross-platform standard and need to remain consistent across devices....

Update: Registration is now open. Apple’s annual Hour of Code workshops are kicking off this year at Apple Stores across the world during the week of December 5, and this year there’s a new app in play: Swift Playgrounds. Apple introduced user-friendly coding app for iPad earlier this year as a way to introduce new developers to Swift, Apple’s programming language. Bringing Swift Playgrounds to the annual free coding workshops will enable new lessons, Apple says....

Counting tablet PCs as personal computers, Apple is about to overtake Hewlett-Packard and become the world’s top personal computer vendor. All should be known soon when Apple reveals holiday quarter earnings in a conference call with analysts scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24. HP CEO Meg Whitman was first to admit that such a turn of event neither would nor be entirely unsurprising given Apple’s lead in the post-PC world. Whitman said back in November, “It’s possible if you integrate tablets....

It’s been two years since Apple introduced us to its iPhone disassembly robot Liam, and now it’s time to meet the company’s newest bot: Daisy. Apple says Daisy — who you can see in action below — offers “the most efficient way to reclaim more of the valuable materials stored in iPhone” with the robot capable of disassembling and sorting parts from up to 200 iPhones per hour. Daisy’s introduction is accompanied with Apple adding Earth Day donations through its GiveBack program to the non-profit Conservation International....

In a statement, Apple has said that it will appeal a Chinese trademark ruling which saw the company lose exclusive rights to the iPhone name, allowing other Chinese companies to use the name for leather goods products. Obviously, the iPhone is Apple’s cash cow so the initial ruling was a big blow allowing legal dilution of its most-valuable brand. Apple will take the appeal to the Supreme People’s court, the highest court in the Chinese law system …...

As more apps are switching to subscription models, Apple is reminding developers that they will have access to new App Store subscription offer codes later this year. These codes will allow developers to offer special deals for app subscriptions, including free or discounted prices for auto-renewable subscriptions. Apple describes the new App Store subscription offer codes as “unique, alphanumeric codes” that will make it easier to “acquire, retain, and win back subscribers....

Starting today, AppleCare will begin providing support service for Beats Music customers as well as businesses interested in accepting Apple Pay, according to sources. Support for the streaming music service previously went through a separate system from Apple’s other products and services. AppleCare staff has also been advised on helping businesses with accepting Apple Pay as the company pushes its new mobile payment service. Support for Beats products has slowly been integrated with Apple’s customer support channel for its products and services since Apple bought Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion last year....

One of the first products you could purchase online from Apple was a set of golf balls and tees. Not a golfer? Apple also offered a puzzle in a can, a paddle game, luggage tags, and even a onesie with the classic Mac OS Trash icon screen printed on the front. These forgotten items and nearly 100 more products came from the peculiar world of AppleDesigns.com, one of Apple’s earliest online shopping projects....

Beyond a unique sales process and exclusivity to select stores, even returning the Apple Watch Edition will have its own special process. Bringing the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition back to an Apple Store for a refund will require the device to be scrutinized under micro-inspection by Apple Store staff, according to sources. While the return process itself is unique, the return timeframe will be the standard 14 days like most of Apple’s other products…...

An Apple trophy presented to the developers behind the best apps of 2020 has been described as ‘the most exclusive Apple product of all time’ … Digital Trends‘ Jeremy Kaplan got a look at it. [The trophy is] a hunk of precisely engineered and polished aluminum, handcrafted by the company’s world-famous design team. Limited to a run of exactly 15 (plus a spare or two to have around Apple Park), this is Apple’s most exclusive product of all time....

Thursday’s best deals include Apple TV 4K discounts, August smart locks, and Apple’s official iPad Pro keyboards. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Apple TV 4K deals B&H is currently discounting Apple TV 4K with deals from $169. Our top pick is the 64GB model for $184, which is down from the usual $199 price tag. That’s a match of our Black Friday and previous mentions....

Apple has recently updated its Apple Pencil support document to note of a bizarre issue some users have experienced. According to the updated document, if you’re charging your second-generation Apple Pencil with your iPad Pro, you might experience problems unlocking your car via a key fob. This is a bizarre case of interference to say the least. Apple explains that signal interference between your Apple Pencil + iPad Pro and your car’s keyless entry device might prevent you from unlocking your car with the fob (via iGeneration)....

After nearly two months of closures, all but one of Apple’s retail stores in Australia have reopened. The country’s coronavirus mitigation strategy has so far proved successful, allowing it to be among the first regions where Apple feels confident to welcome customers back inside and store teams back to work. Apple Stores in a world warped by the coronavirus look and operate differently, but it’s all in the name of safety....