MacRumors

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming update to tvOS, the new operating system that runs on the fourth-generation Apple TV. Today's tvOS beta marks the first major software update to tvOS 9.0, a final version of which was released alongside the new Apple TV. The first beta of tvOS 9.1 was seeded to developers last week.

The second tvOS beta is available as an over-the-air update to those who have installed the first beta. Installing an initial tvOS beta is a more involved process than installing a beta update for iOS or OS X. The update requires the Apple TV to be connected to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, with the software downloaded and installed via iTunes.

We don't yet know exactly what is included in the new version of tvOS, as most changes thus far appear to be under-the-hood updates. Apple's release notes for the update include references to networking and scrolling tweaks, and it's likely tvOS 9.1 will include fixes for bugs and issues that have been discovered in the software since the Apple TV's official launch.

We will include any other external facing changes below.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan update to developers, just one week after seeding the second beta and three weeks after releasing the first OS X El Capitan update to the public, OS X 10.11.1.

The new beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center.

We don't know exactly what improvements the second update to OS X El Capitan will introduce, as many of the changes seem to be under-the-hood upgrades. It’s likely to focus on bug fixes, security enhancements, and performance improvements to address problems that have popped up since the release of OS X 10.11.1.

Apple's release notes for OS X 10.11.2 have asked developers to focus on Networking, Graphics, Mail, Wi-Fi, Calendar, USB, Notes, Photos, and Spotlight.

Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 9.2 to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second iOS 9.2 beta and three weeks after releasing iOS 9.1 to the public. As a .1 upgrade, iOS 9.2 will mark the second major update to iOS 9.

The new iOS 9.2 beta is available as an over-the-air update and through the Apple Developer Center. Today's beta is also available to public beta testers, and there's also a new version of the Xcode 7.2 beta available.

Earlier betas of iOS 9.2 introduced changes for the Safari View Controller, which is what allows a pop-up Safari window to be used in third-party apps. Safari View Controller now supports third-party Action Extensions, allowing apps like 1Password to be accessed in the Safari view of other apps like Tweetbot.

Safari View Controller has also been updated with the ability to long tap on the Reload button to reload content without content blockers and it now supports the request desktop site function. iOS 9.2 beta 2 improved Safari View Controller further, introducing support for dismissing it with an edge swipe.

Along with improvements to Safari View Controller, iOS 9.2 also introduces support for AT&T's NumberSync Wi-Fi Calling feature and includes bug fixes for iCloud Keychain, Apple Watch syncing and pairing, audio quality when streaming to stereo systems, and more.

Apple is launching its first major app for Android devices today, expanding its Apple Music platform to Android-based smartphones and tablets. With the introduction of a beta Apple Music app for the Google Play Store, Android users will be able to subscribe to the Apple Music streaming service, listen to Beats 1 radio, and access the Apple Connect artist-based social network.

The new Apple Music app is available from the Google Play store and requires Android 4.3 or later. It's available in all of the countries where Apple Music for iOS is available, with the exception of China. Apple Music includes the same three-month trial for Android users and it is priced the same - $9.99 for an individual plan and $14.99 for a family plan.

TechCrunch spoke with Eddy Cue about the launch of the new Android app for Apple Music, who said Apple's decision to create an Apple Music Android app was based on a desire to let people enjoy music "no matter where you were and what products you were using." Apple wants "everyone in the world" to be able to try Apple Music, including those in areas where Android devices remain more popular than iOS devices.

Apple Music for Android offers a design that's similar to the iOS version, but as it's a beta, it does not yet include Music Videos or the ability to sign up for a family membership within the app. Family memberships will need to be purchased on an iOS device. According to Cue, Apple Music is "a full native app" that will "feel very much like an Android app."

"We wanted customers on Android to naturally be able to use it -- what they've learned and how they interact is common. Things as simple as [that] the share icon looks like an Android share icon; the menu structure being where it is; these are things that most Android customers are familiar with. We wanted to make sure that they felt very familiar with Apple Music when they sat down to use it."

Apple Music is not Apple's first app for Android, but it is the most significant. Apple previously released a "Move to iOS" app that helps Android users transition to the iPhone, and it's launched an Android app for controlling the Beats Pill+ speaker. All of Apple's Android apps have come in the last few months, signaling its willingness to expand beyond the iOS ecosystem for the first time.

Apple is unlikely to adopt AMOLED displays for next-generation iPhones in the foreseeable future, according to often-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst believes Apple will continue using TFT-LCD display technology for at least the next three years -- and likely beyond.

Kuo claims that Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, is preparing to invest in advanced TFT-LCD production lines in China for mass production in 2018, and coupled with recent comments made by iPhone backlight supplier Minebea, the analyst believes iPhones will continue using TFT-LCD displays in the future.

Based on recent comments by Minebea, one of the main iPhone backlight unit suppliers, we believe AMOLED will not penetrate iPhone for the next three years. Moreover, Hon Hai is preparing to invest in Gen-6 LTPS TFT-LCD production lines in Zhengzhou, China for mass production in 2018, suggesting the iPhone line will likely stick with TFT-LCD technology in 2018 and thereafter. […]

Minebea, major BLU supplier of iPhone, stated to investors on November 5 that it does not foresee risk of TFT-LCD share loss to AMOLED in high-end smartphone market in next three years & guides growth in TFT-LCD going forward. As Apple and Samsung are the only two brands that currently offer premium smartphones, we think Minebea’s statements imply it does not expect iPhone to adopt AMOLED in the coming three years, given that Samsung’s models are already being equipped with it.

Taiwanese website DigiTimes, citing a report in the Korea-based ET News, said in late October that Samsung may supply Apple with OLED panels for upcoming iPhone models, and past rumors have suggested an AMOLED-based iPhone could arrive in 2017 or later, but Kuo believes there is "sufficient evidence indicating otherwise."

Samsung's popular Galaxy-branded smartphones are equipped with AMOLED displays, as is the Apple Watch, but Apple has always used various LCD display technologies since the original iPhone launched over eight years ago. Geek provides a good comparison of AMOLED vs. LCD display technologies.

Best Buy has shared its Black Friday ad for 2015, revealing several deals on Apple products and accessories. The discounts and promotions include up to $125 off select iPad Air 2 models, up to $200 off select Macs, up to $100 off select Apple Watch models, up to $50 off all iPods and more.

Best Buy stores in the U.S. will open at 5:00 PM on Thursday, November 26, close at 1:00 AM on Friday, November 27, then reopen at 8:00 AM on Friday, November 27 and remain open until 10:00 PM on Friday, November 27. All times are local and may vary at select locations. Most deals are also available online between November 26-28.

Doorbusters

Best Buy will be offering limited doorbuster deals on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday in stores and online. Thanksgiving Day doorbusters will be available at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 26. Black Friday doorbusters will be available at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, November 27. All times are local and may vary.

Tickets are required for in-store Black Friday doorbuster shopping, which grants the customer the ability to buy a discounted item for a limited time. Best Buy stores will determine when to distribute tickets in the two hours prior to opening for select store-opening doorbusters on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

- $100 off iPad Air 2 (16GB/Wi-Fi)
- $100 off iPad Air 2 (64GB/Wi-Fi)
- $125 off iPad Air 2 (128GB/Wi-Fi)
- $200 off MacBook Pro (13-inch/Mid-2012)
- $200 off iMac (21.5-inch/1.6 GHz/Late-2015)
- $120 off MacBook Air (11-inch/Early-2015)
- Up to $50 off all iPods

Black Friday Deals

- $100 off iPad mini 4 (64GB or 128GB/Wi-Fi)
- $150 off MacBook Pro (13-inch/Early-2015)
- $150 off iMac (27-inch/Retina 5K/Late-2015)
- Up to $100 off select Apple Watch models
- Up to 50% off select Apple Watch accessories
- Up to $60 off ZAGGfolio keyboards for iPads
- Buy one, get one 40% off on iTunes gift cards
- $200 Best Buy gift card with purchase or lease and activation of any new iPhone plus trade-in of iPhone 5 or newer

Follow our Black Friday roundup to keep track of all the best Apple deals at Walmart, Sam's Club, Staples, Target and other retailers as announced. See Best Buy's Black Friday FAQ for more details about the above deals.

Johann Jungwirth has been appointed as the head of Volkswagen's new Digitalization Strategy Department in the company's Germany-based headquarters. In the past, Jungwirth worked for Mercedez-Benz and Apple, where he led the Mac Systems Engineering team.

More specifically, Jungwirth supported Apple's Special Projects Group, a tie that has connected him in the past to Apple's long-rumored Apple Car project. Although the German native could have left Apple solely for a job that brought him closer to home, it's still unclear exactly why he decided to leave the Cupertino-based company -- where he was allegedly working alongside the Apple Car team -- for Volkswagen.

Jungwirth was named Director, Mac Systems Engineering at Apple in Cupertino, CA (USA), in 2014. He was responsible for innovation in design and engineering in product development as well as hiring, growing and leading a multicultural research & development team and supporting the Special Projects Group.

According to Volkswagen's press release, Jungwirth will help the car manufacturer look towards the future with a focus on digitilization in the automotive industry. The hire comes on the heels of Volkswagen's big diesel scandal that's plagued the company for the past few weeks, in which it was discovered that it cheated on emissions tests in a number of its diesel cars.

Ahead of the launch of the iPad Pro, Apple executives have been doing a series of interviews to drum up excitement and interest in the device. Earlier today, The Independent published an interview with Tim Cook where he shared his thoughts on the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro's target market.

This afternoon, The Telegraph published a second interview where Tim Cook spoke further on his vision of the iPad Pro as a PC replacement and how tablets are subsuming the PC market. According to Cook, the iPad Pro will serve as a replacement for a notebook or desktop computer for "many, many people."

"I think if you're looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?" [...]

"Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones."

Cook also said the iPad Pro will be highly appealing to artists and other creatives, pointing towards the ease of use of the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro's sound system, two features he also highlighted in his earlier interview with The Independent.

According to Cook, sales of the new Apple TV were "very strong," a sentiment he echoed for the Apple Watch, which will "set a new record this quarter." Cook also said Apple doesn't have plans to introduce sensors or other health features that would cause the FDA to get involved with the device. He didn't rule out the possibility of other products that require FDA approval, like apps.

We don't want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process. I wouldn't mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it -- maybe an app, maybe something else."

Tim Cook's interview, where he also speaks on the iPad mini 4 and device cannibalization, the health benefits of the Apple Watch, and the possibility of an Apple subscription service is well worth reading over at The Telegraph.

Apple's iPad Pro will go on sale online on Wednesday, November 11. Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079.

Apple today launched a new ad for the iPad Pro, entitled "A Great Big Universe." The ad depicts a gorgeous and detailed close up of the solar system, which zooms out to show that it's actually being displayed on the iPad Pro's Retina display. According to The Verge, the ad will premiere on TV tonight during Monday Night Football.

There's a great big universe in the new iPad Pro. It's the largest iPad ever and takes your creativity and productivity to an epic scale.

The new iPad Pro ad comes just two days before Apple will began accepting orders for the device. This morning, Apple announced orders would begin online on Wednesday, November 11, with the iPad Pro available in stores later in the week.

Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The iPad Pro is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

Apple will also be allowing customers to order the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, the two accessories that are designed to be used with the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil, a pressure-sensitive stylus, will be available for $99 while the Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.

Following today's announcement that iPad Pro online orders begin November 11, with in-store availability later this week, CNNMoney and The Independent have published interviews with Apple executives Eddy Cue and Tim Cook respectively about the new 12.9-inch tablet.

Cue described the iPad Pro as great for consuming content, such as emails, news and websites, and spoke in general terms about how Apple pushes itself to "create tools that let people solve incredible problems." He also praised the tablet's new four-speaker design that delivers stereo sound.

"One of the things with the iPad Pro that’s amazing is the sound — it’s got four speakers on it," said Cue. "And so the first time -- even myself as we were developing it -- I got my hands on it and I heard it, it changed the way I thought of the product even. I didn’t realize how much of a difference it was going to make that you have stereo sound coming out of a device like this."

Cook also said the iPad Pro delivers a "first-class audio experience," and called the tablet a capable "laptop replacement" when used with a Smart Keyboard. The chief executive further emphasized that the Apple Pencil is not a stylus, but rather a sketching tool that complements the iPad Pro's traditional multi-touch input.

“Well, we didn’t really do a stylus, we did a Pencil. The traditional stylus is fat, it has really bad latency so you’re sketching here and it’s filling the line in somewhere behind. You can’t sketch with something like that, you need something that mimics the look and feel of the pencil itself or you’re not going to replace it. We’re not trying to replace finger touch, we’re complementing it with the Pencil.”

Cook believes the iPad Pro's target market will consist of a lot of PC users, customers without Apple products and existing iPad users looking to upgrade to a "very different" device. The tablet also has value for creative companies like Touchpress, the makers of several interactive musical apps for Apple devices.

Where the iPad Pro is concerned, Alex Johnston, Chief Marketing Officer, told me: “For a business like Touchpress with the kind of content we like to produce, we value the more beautiful screen, the better audio. We re-imagine familiar music or text in a way to give you fresh perspectives on it. So having more screen real estate allows us to do that a lot.

“The thing that struck me the most,” Johnston went on, “is that it completely transformed the iPad experience when you use the Pencil or the Keyboard with it. It’s not just that I want it because it’s the best iPad, it’s that the tools that go with it allow me to do things that my finger won’t allow me to do.”

Adobe has also shared a video where visual designers, illustrators, educators and other creative professionals offer positive first impressions of the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, with a focus on Creative Cloud apps including Illustrator Draw, Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Sketch and Photoshop Fix.

iPad Pro pricing starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The 12.9-inch tablet is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

Apple today released the first update to tvOS, the new operating system that runs on the fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS 9.0.1 is a minor update that likely includes bug fixes and performance updates to address issues discovered since the launch of tvOS on October 30.

The new 9.0.1 update can be downloaded over-the-air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System --> Software Update.

Apple has not provided release notes for the tvOS 9.0.1 update, so the exact details on what's new are not yet known. Any discoveries we make will be added to this post.

tvOS 9.0.1 comes as Apple is testing the first major update to the operating system, tvOS 9.1. Apple has thus far seeded one beta of tvOS 9.1 to developers, with release notes for that beta pointing towards improvements to networking and scrolling. tvOS 9.1 also appears to include support for Siri search for Apple Music.

Apple recently confirmed that Siri is coming to Apple Music on the new Apple TV at the beginning of next year, but iDownloadBlog has discovered the virtual assistant can now be used for certain music-related commands on the latest tvOS 9.1 beta ahead of time.

Jeff Benjamin shared a video demo of Siri being used to search for songs, albums, artists and playlists on Apple Music from the Home screen on the new Apple TV, without needing to open the Apple Music app. Siri can also be used to play and pause Beats 1 radio.

MacRumors was able to replicate this functionality on the new Apple TV running tvOS 9.1 beta in the United States, but Siri did not always handle requests properly. Siri was also unable to complete music-related commands on tvOS 9.0 in our testing.

Apple will likely continue testing limited Siri support for Apple Music before making the feature publicly available in 2016, so the functionality may be spotty or unavailable entirely for some users.

Apple today announced that its much-anticipated larger-screened iPad Pro will go on sale at Apple Stores, select carriers and Apple Authorized Resellers in the U.S. and over 40 countries starting later this week, with online orders set to begin on Wednesday, November 11.

While Apple will not begin accepting online orders until Wednesday, November 11, other retailers have already begun allowing customers to place orders for the iPad Pro. Sam's Club was the first to accept pre-orders but quickly sold out, while MacMall and Staples are still accepting orders. Ordering from one of these sites will not guarantee delivery later this week - MacMall doesn't expect orders to ship until November 16, while Staples lists a launch date of November 25.

Apple's iPad Pro is its new flagship tablet with a 12.9-inch Retina display, a super powerful A9X processor, a four speaker audio system, 4GB RAM, and an 8-megapixel rear camera.

“The early response to iPad Pro from app developers and our customers has been incredible, and we’re excited to get iPad Pro into the hands of customers around the world this week,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPad Pro is the most powerful iPad we’ve ever made, giving users the ability to be even more creative and more productive with the epic 12.9-inch Retina display, powerful 64-bit A9X chip and groundbreaking Apple Pencil and new Smart Keyboard. We can’t wait to see what they do with iPad Pro.”

Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The iPad Pro is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

iPad Pro will be available in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, UAE, U.S., U.K., Uruguay and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Apple will also be allowing customers to order the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, the two accessories that are designed to be used with the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil, a pressure-sensitive stylus, will be available for $99 while the Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup today dismissed a lawsuit against Apple that had been brought by several retail employees over Apple's policy of conducting required security searches of personal bags without compensation after workers had clocked out for meal breaks or at the end of their shifts, reports Bloomberg. The class action lawsuit covered thousands of employees at Apple's California retail stores.

The ruling by a San Francisco federal judge Saturday releases the company from having to compensate as many [as] 12,400 former and current employees from 52 stores throughout the state a few dollars a day for time spent over a six-year period having their bags and Apple devices searched at meal breaks and after their shifts. A law professor who reviewed filings in the case estimated Apple could have been be on the hook for as much as $60 million, plus penalties.

In his ruling, Alsup noted that employees could have avoided the searches, as some employees did, by not bringing personal bags to work. The lawsuit had been restricted to California as the U.S. Supreme Court had previously ruled workers are not entitled to compensation for time spent in post-shift bag searches under federal law.

An attorney for the plaintiffs in the case reports they are weighing their potential next steps, which could include an appeal of Alsup's ruling.