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(Screenshot of The Lorax from Trailers App – Click to enlarge to full size) Apple updated its Movie Trailers.app today to Retina graphics, which you will immediately notice bring videos to a higher 1080P quality. This would have been a good app to showcase when launching the Retina display. Either way, the video quality is impressive to the point that it makes the app addictive. Apple highlights Retina-ready apps for new iPad (9to5mac....

Since the launch of OS X Mavericks last week, many users have been reporting widespread, various, consistent issues within Apple’s bundled Mail application. Many of the issues have mainly affected users of Google’s Gmail email service, and some of the issues have to do with receiving messages, sorting messages into folders, and deleting messages. Apple is aware of the issue and is testing a fix for the problem… An updated Mail application has been seeded to both Apple employees internally and testers within Apple’s customer AppleSeed program....

Apple will reportedly be offering a new bond sale in four parts to raise $5.5 billion in debt. The news comes ahead of the company’s 4 for 1 stock split and record AAPL share highs moving the company close to a $2 trillion market cap milestone. Apple offered a bond sale just about a year ago raising $7 billion as well as this past May to the tune of $8.5 billion....

Update: The Apple TV app for Roku is now available. Download it here from the Roku Channel Store. The Apple TV app is launching on Roku devices today, just in time for Apple’s TV+ streaming debut on November 1st. The TV app can be downloaded thorugh the Roku channel store, allowing Roku users to access their 4K HD iTunes purchases, Apple TV Channels, and Apple TV+ originals. The company says the app will be compatible with most Roku devices, including the Roku streaming stick and Roku Ultra set-top box....

Continuing its efforts in supporting various equal rights campaigns in recent years, Apple has voiced its support for a new equal rights bill in Houston through a statement issued by the Human Rights Campaign organization. Business Houston Journal reports that the organization issued the statement below on Apple’s behalf in support of the bill known as Proposition 1, or Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), ahead of voting on the bill ending October 30....

One of the best features of the Apple Watch is the Activity app. This app keeps track of your exercise that you accumulate throughout the day, shown by a red (calories burned), green (exercise), and blue (stand) ring. For some people these rings are super addicting, while others cheat there way to fill those rings. If you’re having motivational issues, you may want to share your Activity data with others to see how your friends are doing in terms of closing their rings....

iOS 12.1.1 sounds like a small point release for bug fixes and performance improvements, but the upcoming software update is shaping up to be a bit more interesting than just behind-the-scenes maintenance. FaceTime has two notable improvements to changes made in iOS 12 and iOS 12.1 as we discovered yesterday, and now the Watch app for managing paired Apple Watches is getting a generational upgrade. Starting with iOS 12.1.1 which is currently in its first developer beta version, the Watch app on iPhone features a slightly tweaked icon that depicts the new Apple Watch Series 4....

If you’re still debating on which Apple Watch model to order, we may have a bit of help/advice to offer. Apple Watch Sport is the cheapest option to go for, but what exactly will you be missing over one that’s more expensive? Well, we took the plunge, picked up a few of them, and put together a helpful comparison video between these models… First off, it’s important to note that not only is there a difference in materials between the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport, there’s also a major difference in presentation....

Photos via Hypertronium (left) and mzudema (right) This morning on the historic Kärntner Straße, Apple welcomed customers in Austria’s capital of Vienna for the first time, opening a new retail location in a historically significant storefront after over a year of planning and restoration work. On February 1st, the grand opening date of Apple Kärntner Straße was announced when the company removed construction scaffolding surrounding the building and replaced it with banners referencing The Wiener Werkstätte....

Apple has been working on a new gesture-based lock screen for iOS devices that works similarly to Android’s “dots” lock screen feature. The user sets up a pattern and needs to input that same pattern in, instead of a password or a four number code. Apple has already deployed this new lock screen internally for use in the employee ‘Apple Connect’ application for iOS devices. There is no word on whether or not this new lock screen will make its way to iOS devices for users....

Update: The listing showing Apple as an exhibitor has been removed. While Apple typically chooses not to have a public presence at the big tech trade shows, the company is listed as an exhibitor for next year’s Mobile World Congress show scheduled for February (via Macrumors). While there aren’t many clues as to what Apple might be doing there, the listing on the MWC website notes the words “App Planet Stand....

Apple will soon make a significant change to retail store Genius Bar appointments to improve the customer experience, according to several sources briefed on the upcoming shift. During the week of March 9th, Apple’s United States stores will launch a new initiative called “The new Concierge” that replaces traditional walk-in Genius Bar appointments. Currently, a customer seeking Genius Bar assistance can walk into an Apple Retail Store, explain the issue to a check-in assistant, and get a specific time to return for an appointment…...

Current Apple TV customers are getting at least one more new wave of channel additions before the focus completely means to the new App Store-based Apple TV on Monday. New channels from CBS, NBC, and the fashion-focused M2M arrived on current Apple TV home screens today, bringing CBS’s subscription service, full episodes of NBC shows, and exclusive fashion videos to the streaming box. We reported a month ago that CBS was planning to bring its All Access service to Apple TV boxes, allowing subscribers to view CBS shows on-demand through a standalone $5....

Apple TV users will notice a channel refresh today adding ‘120 SPORTS’ to the lineup. The update follows the addition of the official Cricket Australia channel and The Tennis Channel earlier this month further adding to the sports content offered on the Apple TV set-top box. 120 Sports, backed in part by Sports Illustrated, describes itself as “a first-of-its-kind network partnership involving multiple leagues and media properties created for the digital generation and the devices it uses most....

Apple likes rolling out changes to iCloud.com at seemingly random times throughout the year. Today, it’s updated the iCloud.com background from a static blue-yellow seaside gradient to a moving animation that tracks your mouse cursor and mimics the blue Dynamic Wallpaper on iPhone and iPad, which Apple quickly ignored after its introduction in iOS 7. The new wallpaper applies across the iCloud.com site, affecting the login screen and app launcher. There does not appear to be any changes to the iCloud web apps themselves in either functionality or design....

Make sure to put your savings to work and grab a few extra Apple Watch bands. Our roundup of the best third-party options has a wide range of styles for just the right look. This $13 leather band is sure to fit most looks throughout the week. At that bargain price, you won’t be out too much money if it gets scratched up. We’re also still seeing a number of first-party Apple Watch bands on sale here from $22....

In August 2016, the EU ordered Ireland to collect 13 billion euros (around $15 billion) in back taxes from Apple citing illegal tax benefits from 2003 to 2014. Both Ireland and Apple have rejected the judgement and are appealing the decision in a court battle that will last years. For the time being, the money will be left in an escrow account. It was announced today that Apple will start paying into that account from next month....

Apple has just acquired the global rights to an upcoming action thriller film called Emancipation starring Will Smith and directed by Antoine Fuqua (both pictured above). The deal marks the biggest-ever film festival acquisition with Apple reportedly spending more than $100 million to close the deal, competing against Warner Bros. and others. Reported by Deadline, the deal for Emancipation comes from the Virtual Cannes market and initially included seven bidders. After moving past $75 million, the bidding was down to Apple and Warner Bros....

Following the kickoff of preorders yesterday, Apple today has shared four brand new HomePod ads on YouTube. The ads are each 15 seconds long, focusing primarily on the speaker quality… Each ad is set to its own song, including DNA by Kendrick Lamar, Holy Water by Hembree, All Night by Big Boi, and Ain’t I by Lizzo. Unfortunately, the ads don’t show us anything we didn’t already know about HomePod and only show the device itself for a couple of seconds....

We frequently caution that Apple patents and trademarks all kinds of things it will never do, but one trademark application filed this week seems more likely than not to make it into real products. The company has applied to register its Apple Music logo trademark for use on clothing, wristbands and more … Apple’s application is for an additional category of use for its existing Apple Music logo trademark, comprised of the Apple logo with the word ‘MUSIC’ alongside it....