Apple loses e-book antitrust appeal

An appeals court ruled against Apple’s challenge of a lower court’s decision which found the company liable for illegally conspiring with ebook publishers to jack up prices.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit voted 2 to 1 against Apple. Writing for the majority, Judge Debra Ann Livingston said that Apple illegally orchestrated a conspiracy between book publishers, upholding a district court ruling from 2013. The lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Additionally, she said that the injunction imposed by District Court Judge Denise Cote was appropriate and left it in place. It’s the latest strike against Apple in this long-running case, which stems from agreements the company set up with publishers around the launch of its online ebook marketplace.

AppleCare for Mac now covers batteries retaining less than 80% charge

In a minor change to its AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac policy on Monday, Apple is now replacing non-removable MacBook batteries that retain less than 80 percent of their original charge.

After crushing rival smartwatch sales, Apple Watch portrayed as doomed by CNBC

CNBC has issued a stream of flawed reports suggesting calamity and doom for Apple Watch--already the world's most commercially successful wearable--with each article twisting data to say the opposite of the truth in order to deliver sensational clickbait.

AppleInsider podcast discusses the iPhone home button, Beats 1, CarPlay, HomeKit & more

This week's all-new AppleInsider podcast features Mikey Campbell and Daniel Eran Dilger as we talk about the concept of an iPhone with no home button, as well as HomeKit and our experiences with it so far. Victor professes his love for CarPlay, and Daniel talks about Beats 1, and how it stayed in the news cycle for an entire week before it launches.

New iOS 8.4 will enable Apple Music, Beats 1 on Tuesday; Sonos, Android support coming later this year

In a blog post (that has since been removed), Apple Music senior director Ian Rogers--the former CEO of Beats Music--noted that Apple will make iOS 8.4 available at 8 AM Pacific Time on Tuesday, two hours earlier than the company's typical release time, in order to allow users to hear the inaugural broadcast of Apple's new Beats 1 radio programming and begin using Apple Music.

Apple inventions hint at next-level iOS geofencing features

A pair of Apple patent applications published Thursday point to ongoing research in mobile device location sharing, one being an augmentation of existing iOS geofencing technology, and another detailing an entirely new form of indoor request-and-answer location notifications reliant on node-based triangulation.

Beats 1 to feature celebrity shows hosted by Elton John, Drake, Pharrell, Dr. Dre & more

Apple will indeed have a number of mainstream musicians host shows on Beats 1 including Drake, Disclosure, St. Vincent, Josh Homme, Pharrell Williams, and Elton John, a report said on Thursday.

New flagship Union Square Apple Store beginning to rise in San Francisco

Walls are beginning to rise at the site of Apple's new flagship store at Union Square in San Francisco, three blocks away from the company's existing flagship store at Stockton and Market Street (which the new location will replace next summer).

Apple to reportedly pay 0.2 cents per song for Apple Music 90-day free trial period

As Apple Music nears its June 30 debut more information is coming out regarding Apple's fee structure as applied to the service's 90-day free trial, with reports on Wednesday now pegging the number at 0.2 cents per play.

Study: Higher iPhone resale value in US and China suggests strong demand

Fresh data shows Apple's latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are reselling at comparatively higher prices than last year's iPhone 5s and 5c models did during the same post-launch period in 2014, suggesting demand for the handset has not waned.

Apple expanding user privacy, will prevent iOS apps from seeing other installed apps

As part of a continued focus on protecting user privacy, Apple is reportedly planning to change a policy on third-party applications and prevent them from finding out what other apps are installed on an iPhone or iPad.

Apple will now pay rights holders during Apple Music trial period, Eddy Cue says

Following widespread outcry over its policy of not compensating rights holders for streams during Apple Music's three-month free trial, Apple software and services chief Eddy Cue said late Sunday that the company has reversed course and will indeed pay royalties while users evaluate the service.

Everything you need to know about Apple Music

After months of rumor and speculation, Apple on Monday unveiled its first foray into paid music streaming with Apple Music. Featuring access to an extensive iTunes-based catalog, human-curated playlists, Beats 1 radio and Connect social networking for artists, the product promises to be one of Apple's biggest releases for 2015.

Inside iOS 9: Apple's iPad-exclusive split-screen multitasking will enhance productivity

With this fall's iOS 9 upgrade, the iPad lineup will be getting special attention to enhance productivity on the big-screen tablets, including an all-new split-screen multitasking mode that will allow users to more easily accomplish two tasks at once.

Medical researchers gain new data opportunities with ResearchKit debut on Apple's iPad

ResearchKit is now supported on the iPad, creating a new avenue for Apple's open-source platform for medical researchers, the company announced in a mailing this week.

First look: iOS 9 brings tons of tweaks to search, music, mail, and more

Alongside a few headline features, Apple has --?as it does in every iOS revision --?made a number of tweaks to existing apps and options in its flagship mobile operating system, including the newfound ability to set the function of the iPhone's side switch to orientation lock, making podcast playback easier, and adding built-in document search.

iOS 9 finally has a lowercase keyboard

There's never enough time during a WWDC keynote for Apple to enumerate all of the new features it's adding to its latest software, but this change in iOS 9 will be a most welcome and apparent one: the keyboard now shows lowercase letters when typing in lowercase and uppercase letters when typing in uppercase. Up until now, much like the physical keyboard on your MacBook, all letters were uppercase at all times. If the change seems like an obvious and overdue design tweak, that's because it is. Android keyboards have alternated thusly for many years, helping the user know what mode he or she is typing in without needing to reference the Shift key at the side of the keyboard.

Prior to iOS 7, the Shift key used to be highlighted in blue when deployed, providing a decent visual cue when not obscured by your typing fingers. Apple changed that to a monochromatic highlight, however, and made it rather more ambiguous — all of which is now a non-issue thanks to the change to show lower and uppercase letters for what they truly are.

Apple steps up security with native two-factor and 6-digit passcodes in iOS 9

Nestled in the middle of iOS 9 announcements were two security-related bumps: Apple now suggests you sete a six-digit passcode instead of a four-digit one; and two-factor authentication becomes a built-in part of iOS (and OS X) rather than an afterthought.

Orders of magnitude harder

The first change is easier to explain. It’s up to 100 times harder to crack a truly random six-digit code (that is, not a pattern like “111111” or “123456”) than the same four-digit code. While brute forcing 10,000 codes into an iOS device seems unlikely, a set of researchers recently exploited a power-off issue in iOS devices to create an automated four-digit cracking system. Breaking the code takes from 6 seconds to 17 hours, they say.

iOS 9 power-saving tactics include cutting display power for face-down devices

Better battery life is an Apple priority for iOS 9, and to that end the company is adopting extreme attention to detail, implementing things like face-down power restrictions, a Low Power mode, and a dedicated menu in the Settings app with more granular detail.

WWDC Steals: Apple's new iMac 5K for $1,799; 15-inch MacBook Pros for $1,749; more

WWDC 2015 has delivered some shocking deals, such as $200 off Apple's brand new 3.3GHz iMac with Retina 5K display ($1,799 off) and $300 off its souped up 3.5GHz cousin. Similarly, 15-inch MacBook Pros are now available for as little as $1,749 ($250 off) without a discrete graphics card or $2,149 with one ($350 off).

eBay arrives on Apple Watch, Google Maps for iOS gets pushed locations

eBay on Tuesday released its first app for Apple Watch, while Google Maps for iOS updated with the ability to receive locations pushed from the desktop.

Third-party complications are a bigger deal than native Apple Watch apps

As one of the people fortunate enough to save enough money to buy the most expensive Apple Watch that isn’t wrapped in 18-Karat gold, I was also one of the last pre-orderers to wear one. So by the time I finally got to strap a Space Black Stainless Steel Apple Watch to my wrist, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Not only had I frequented my local Apple Store to play around with demos and try on the various bands, I had also read a few dozen impressions from people who had gotten one before me.

It wasn’t just the usual round of rushed reviews—over the 52 days between ordering and receiving my Watch, I devoured as much as I possibly could about Apple Watch, from touching experiences with its accessibility features to therapeutic tales of how couples used it to augment their relationships. But mostly I read about apps.

Apple creates 'Move to iOS' app to pull Android users away from Google

The iPhone 6 has been more successful than previous versions of the smartphone at drawing Android users away from Google’s mobile platform, and Apple wants to capitalize on that with a new app that makes it easier for them to make the switch.

Later this year, a new “Move to iOS” app will wirelessly transfer a user’s “contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, wallpaper, and DRM-free songs and books” from an Android phone to their new iPhone.

The switching process will also suggest that they install free apps from their Android device that are also available on Apple’s App Store, so switchers can quickly get back on their feet with their favorite apps like Facebook and Twitter. Paid apps that they have on Android with iOS versions available will be added to a user’s wish list in the iOS App Store.

Apple Previews New Apple Watch Software

Apple previewed watchOS 2, the first major software update for Apple Watch, giving developers the tools to build faster and more powerful apps running natively on Apple Watch. Starting today, developers can take advantage of innovative hardware features of Apple Watch including the Digital Crown, Taptic Engine, and heart rate sensor, along with software APIs to build new app experiences. Available to Apple Watch users this fall, watchOS 2 also includes new watch faces, third-party app information as watch face complications, and new communication capabilities in Mail, Friends, and Digital Touch. “We are thrilled with the feedback we’re getting from Apple Watch customers, and after just a few weeks of availability we’re excited for developers to start building native apps for watchOS 2,” said Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of Technology. “We think Apple Watch users will love being able to see information from their favorite apps right on the watch face, and enjoy the many new experiences developers will dream up now that they have access to even more innovative features of Apple Watch.”

Apple Announces News App for iPhone and iPad

Apple today unveiled an all-new News app delivering the best news reading experience on any mobile device. Available with iOS 9 this fall for iPhone and iPad, News combines the visually rich layout of a magazine with the immediacy and customization of digital media. News follows over a million topics and pulls relevant stories based on your specific interests that can be easily shared or saved for later. News is powered by the new custom-designed Apple News Format, a digital publishing format that allows publishers to create beautiful layouts. “News seamlessly delivers the articles you want to read in a beautiful and uncluttered format, while respecting your privacy, because Apple doesn’t share your personal data,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We already have nearly 20 publishers representing more than 50 titles joining us, including Condé Nast, ESPN, The New York Times, Hearst, Time Inc., CNN, and Bloomberg.”

Apple Previews iOS 9

Apple today unveiled iOS 9, giving a preview of new iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch software that will be available this fall. In this upcoming release, iOS devices become more intelligent and proactive with powerful search and improved Siri features — all without compromising users’ privacy. New multitasking features designed specifically for iPad allow you to work with two apps simultaneously, side-by-side, or with the new Picture-in-Picture feature, to keep watching a video while browsing the web, composing email, or using any other app. “iOS 9 is packed with more intelligence throughout, and delivers big updates to the apps customers use most — Maps supports public transit, a redesigned Notes app provides great new ways to capture ideas, and a beautiful News app delivers content that’s personalized to your interests,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With our new iPad features, users can take advantage of the power of iPad, working in two apps at the same time with Split View, Slide Over, or Picture-in-Picture.”

WWDC 2015 guaranteed to highlight growing gap between Apple and Google

While tech pundits have long insisted that Apple and Google are growing more alike as rivals in smartphone and tablet computing, this week's WWDC should provide clear evidence that Apple is on a completely different track compared to the Android train operated by its formerly close iPhone services partner.

Whoops! Sony Music CEO confirms Apple's new music streaming service

If you were hoping for Apple to announce a new music streaming service, it looks like you’re in luck. According to venturebeat, Sony Music CEO Doug Morris effectively confirmed that the aforementioned rumored streaming service is real, and that it’ll make an appearance during Monday’s WWDC keynote.

Morris made the pre-announcement announcement Sunday while speaking at the Midem music industry conference in Cannes, France. Morris didn’t divulge any specifics on pricing and such, but VentureBeat notes that Morris “much prefers paid streaming services to ad-supported ones from a financial perspective.”

Apple to allow limited WWDC streaming at AltConf

After threatening to pursue legal action against AltConf over plans to stream WWDC content at an unaffiliated conference, Apple on Friday agreed to grant limited access to keynote and Platforms State of the Union presentations.

Killer Deal: Use $100 coupons to help knock $260+ off all 2015 15" MacBook Pros with AppleCare

AppleInsider readers this month can take advantage of an exclusive offer from one of Apple's authorized resellers that allows instant discounts to be combined with a $100 coupon and $50 rebate, knocking a total of $260-$275 off every new 15" MacBook Pro configuration with AppleCare.

Apple's iPhone gobbles up marketshare in U.S. as competitors stumble

A fresh report published by comScore on Friday says Apple's share of the U.S. smartphone market grew nearly two percent during a three-month period ending in April, pushing iPhone's share of subscribers above 43 percent.

Apple reportedly horning in on corporate bond issues, bypassing asset management firms

Apple is among an elite cadre of cash-rich tech companies buying up corporate debt as a way to grow their coffers without befalling U.S. repatriation taxes, a report said Friday.

Apple Watch tips: Jump to last task, delete watch faces, organize glances and more

LThe Apple Watch's user interface is unlike any that has made before, and there are more than a few tricks to using it efficiently. AppleInsider shows you how to quickly jump to your last task, delete watch faces, organize your glances, and remove third-party apps.

Inside Apple UK: Lavish London stores welcome Apple Watch buyers, but so far only to look

London -- one of the most expensive cities in the world -- has prime exposure to Apple Watch, both in high-end boutiques and in two of Apple's own most impressive retail flagship stores, among the 38 total stores in the United Kingdom. Actually buying the new device in those stores, however, remains frustratingly difficult, at least for now.