MacRumors

Apple today seeded the second beta of OS X 10.10.4 to developers, approximately a week and a half since releasing the first 10.10.4 beta and nearly three weeks after releasing OS X 10.10.3 with the Photos for OS X app to the public. Alongside the new developer beta, Apple also released the first public beta version of OS X 10.10.4.

Developers can download the new beta, build 14E11f, through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Mac Developer Center.

OS X 10.10.3 introduced several consumer-facing changes including the new Photos for OS X app, a redesigned emoji picker, new diversified emoji, and more, but OS X 10.10.4 appears to be an under-the-hood update that brings performance enhancements and bug fixes.

The first two updates to OS X Yosemite, OS X 10.10.1 and OS X 10.10.2 were also minor behind-the-scenes updates that improved performance through bug fixes and enhancements.

Apple today added the NBC Sports Live Extra channel to the Apple TV, adding to its growing collection of available sports apps the device. The NBC Sports channel on the Apple TV delivers videos and clips of sporting events that air on NBC, much like the iPad app.

NBC Sports on the Apple TV offers video on demand that includes access to video clips, previews of upcoming events, and highlights from past events, plus it offers live NBC Sports events and full event replays. While video clips and other content will be available to all users, watching live content will require a cable subscription and authentication to log in.

In addition to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Triple Crown, Live Extra streams all live sports content televised by NBC, NBCSN and Golf Channel, including: the Summer and Winter Olympics; Sunday Night Football and NBC's NFL pre-season and post-season coverage; NHL regular-season games; the PGA TOUR, including the FedExCup Playoffs, and the LPGA; the Premier League; studio content surrounding many of the aforementioned properties; original programming such as The Dan Patrick Show and Men In Blazers; and much more.

NBC Sports joins a slew of other sports-oriented apps on the Apple TV, including WatchESPN, MLB.tv, NBA, NHL GameCenter, Major League Soccer, WWE Network, 120 Sports, Tennis Channel Everywhere, and more.

Apple today seeded the second beta of iOS 8.4 to registered developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first iOS 8.4 beta and nearly three weeks after releasing iOS 8.3 to the public. Today's beta is also the first iOS 8.4 beta to be made available to public beta testers.

The beta, build 12H4086d, is available as an over-the-air download and through the iOS Developer Center.

iOS 8.4 introduces an all-new Music app, which has a revamped design that shows pictures of artists in the Artists view and offers personalized playlists. It includes a new MiniPlayer, a redesigned look for "Now Playing," global search capabilities that make it easier to search within the Music app, and a streamlined design for iTunes Radio to bolster music discovery.

The first iOS 8.4 beta had a long list of bugs associated with the new Music app, and it's likely that today's update fixes several of those issues to make the app more stable.

iOS 8.4's redesigned music app comes ahead of the rumored debut of a revamped streaming music service that could make an appearance at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The upcoming streaming music service is said to be similar to Apple's existing Beats music service, but with a rebranding, a redesign, deeper integration into iTunes, and a focus on exclusive content.

What's new in iOS 8.4 beta 2:

Missing music bug - Several users are reporting that installing iOS 8.4 beta 2 caused them to lose all of their music installed on their devices. Those who have lost music are not able to reinstall it by syncing via iTunes, but going to Preference --> Music --> and turning on "Show All Music" has solved the problem for some users with missing music.

Trending Search - When searching for a song on iTunes Radio using the new global search feature, a list of trending searches is displayed.

Fixes - According to the release notes, Apple has addressed a number of issues from the first beta, including resolving a crashing Music app when used with CarPlay, adding search back to the iPad version of the App Store, and fixing problems with MFi GPS accessory support. The company has, however, yet to address most of the many Music apps bugs documented in the first beta, as they remain listed in the release notes for the new beta.

Many customers who pre-ordered the Apple Watch over the past two weeks and received an extended shipping estimate of 4-6 weeks or later should receive the wrist-worn device earlier than expected. Apple continues to update several pre-orders with improved delivery estimates, with some Apple Watch orders initially slated for June delivery now shipping as early as this week.

A growing number of users within the MacRumors discussion forums with Apple Watch pre-orders facing June delivery are beginning to receive more specific shipping dates between mid May and early June. Some customers, for example, have delivery estimates of May 14-May 20 or May 28-June 10, and the white 38mm Apple Watch Sport in particular is set to deliver on April 28 for multiple customers.

The timing of deliveries is highly dependant on the model that customers selected, as the Stainless Steel Apple Watch with Link Bracelet and Space Gray models continue to face long lead times, and Space Black models are virtually nonexistent. Apple is still processing many of the orders for those aforementioned models, with delivery estimates remaining at 4-6 weeks or later for many customers.

Apple Watch pre-order deliveries began on April 24 as scheduled, but limited data from Slice Intelligence estimates that only about one-fifth of customers who pre-ordered received their Apple Watches on launch day in the United States. The report, based on e-receipt data from only 10,744 U.S. Apple Watch buyers, extrapolates that only 376,000 of 1.7 million pre-orders were delivered over the weekend, with another 547,000 watches estimated for delivery between April 27 and June 11.

Apple confirmed last week that many Apple Watch pre-orders will arrive sooner than expected, shortly after an executive relations spokesperson said that elongated shipping estimates were set purposefully to avoid disappointment in the event orders were not fulfilled on time. Nevertheless, the company said that some customers still face long lead times, particularly those who did not place an order until several hours after pre-orders became available.

Discover announced on Monday that it will enable Apple Pay support for credit and debit cardholders at eligible financial institutions in the United States this fall. Discover will also support in-app purchases made using Apple Pay on compatible iPhones, iPads and Apple Watch.

Discover customers with an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, or iPhone 5 or newer paired with an Apple Watch will be able to add their credit and debit cards to the mobile payments service to make contactless payments at thousands of participating retailers and vendors throughout the United States. Discover cardholders will continue to receive current benefits, including Cashback Bonus and Freeze It security.

“As the mobile payments landscape matures, Discover remains committed to giving cardmembers secure options for using their cards and mobile devices,” said Diane Offereins, Discover’s president of payment services. “Discover’s focus on simplicity and value for our cardmembers aligns well with the way Apple Pay makes purchases easy and convenient.”

Apple Pay became available last October in the United States with support from several major credit card companies, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express, and it was reported last December that the mobile payments service supports cards that make up over 90% of purchase volume in the United States. With the addition of Discover, that figure will rise even further.

With the launch of the Apple Watch on Friday, the first wave of consumers have received their Apple Watches. Our forums are abuzz with activity surrounding Apple's newest device. While there were initial concerns about the Apple Watch's battery life, reports seem to indicate that the Apple Watch, itself, has no problem lasting a full day.

However, there have been mixed reports about the impact the Apple Watch has on iPhone battery life. The Apple Watch needs to be paired to an iPhone for full functionality. The iPhone connects to the Apple Watch via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to feed it data and notifications throughout the day.

Some users have found a notable improvement in iPhone battery life with the addition of an Apple Watch. This suggests the act of offloading notifications and quick interactions to your Apple Watch, could make your iPhone battery last much longer.

However, several other users have noticed a significant drain on their iPhone batteries in early usage with the Apple Watch.

Former Engadget editor Ryan Block had as similar experience and pinpointed the Apple Watch Companion app as the culprit. John Byrne also puts some blame on the Companion App, saying that force-quitting the app seemed to help at least a bit. A discussion thread in our forums provides similarly mixed results, with one user blaming his battery drain on checking email on the Apple Watch. Due to the inconsistency in reports, it seems that either a software bug or particular usage pattern could be a culprit.

Apple today rolled out a feature through the iTunes Store that allows users to contribute to the American Red Cross in support of relief efforts following the Nepal earthquake that has killed over 2,400 people.

The feature leverages the hundreds of millions of credit cards already on file to allow iTunes users to easily donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 to the relief efforts. Apple will be passing along 100 percent of the donations to the Red Cross.

This is not the first time Apple has used to iTunes Store to raise money for charity, with the company most recently raising money for City of Hope last October. Other previous relief effort fundraising campaigns have included the 2013 Philippine typhoon, the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

A CNet video shows the new Apple Watch Sport undergoing a variety of torture tests in a kitchen setting to see how well it holds up to a variety of abuse.

Previously, video bloggers have subjected the Sport's Ion-X screen and the Sapphire screen to a variety of scratch tests.

The video shows the Apple Watch Sport holds up remarkably well in various scenarios. The watch is washed, submerged in water for 10 minutes, boiled, grated, spilled on, dropped and finally smashed with cast iron skillet. The Apple Watch Sport screen did shatter with the skillet impact, but seemed to remain perfectly functional until that point.

The Apple Watch was officially launched today with pre-order deliveries arriving for the first customers.

Today is Apple Watch launch day in the United States and eight other first wave launch countries, and many customers around the world are busy setting up their new smartwatch or anxiously waiting for their package to be delivered. Meanwhile, the teardown team at repair website iFixit flew to Melbourne, Australia to get their hands on the Apple Watch and take it apart to see what's inside.

iFixit started by prying open the display and disconnecting the display and digitizer cables underneath, getting a first look at the Taptic Engine, inside of the Digital Crown and internal 205 mAh battery. Digging further into the Apple Watch, the team got a closer look at various components for haptic feedback, an ambient light sensor and S1 integrated processor. Overall, the Apple Watch received a 5 out of 10 repairability score.

Back in Los Angeles, several thousands of miles away from the teardown, KTLA reporter Rich DeMuro was on site at Maxfield in West Hollywood to interview various people waiting in line to purchase the Apple Watch. It was confirmed earlier this week that the Apple Watch would go on sale in limited quantities at Maxfield and other select fashion boutiques such as Colette in Paris and Dover Street Market in Tokyo and London.

DeMuro also provided a basic overview of the Apple Watch's core features, including watch faces, heart rate monitoring, health and fitness tracking, phone calling and stock apps. In line with many early reviews, he said that the Apple Watch is not a device that everyone needs, but that the wrist-worn device has high-quality apps and provides a better overall experience than many Android Wear alternatives.

Apple Watch launched today in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom following a two-week pre-order window that started April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific. The watch will be sold exclusively online until at least June, with no walk-in purchases being taken at Apple retail stores in any of the first wave launch countries.

MacRumors has obtained official Visual Mechanical Inspection information for the Apple Watch that reveals what type of damage is eligible for warranty service, out-of-warranty service or no service at all. These guidelines are adhered to by Apple authorized service providers and are based upon Apple's standard 1-year limited hardware warranty for the Apple Watch.

Apple Watch damage that is eligible for warranty service includes user-claimed debris under the display glass or pixel anomaly, a back cover removed with no damage, and any condensation in the heart rate sensor windows. In particular, the document states that a removed back cover is only covered when not accompanied by enclosure damage or evidence of prying.

Apple Watch damage that is eligible for out-of-warranty service includes a cracked, missing, removed or damaged Digital Crown cap, extreme abrasion, puncture holes, missing buttons resulting from a drop, any chips or multiple cracks in the display glass, a removed back cover with evidence of enclosure damage or prying, a bent or split band enclosure, a missing or removed band release button, or cracks in the back cover.

Apple Watch damage considered nonreturnable and ineligible for warranty service includes a disassembled unit or missing parts, catastrophic damage, counterfeit or third-party parts, and unauthorized modifications such as aftermarket displays and other non-Apple installed parts. Catastrophic damage may still be covered under an AppleCare+ Protection Plan on a case-by-case basis.

Apple disclosed earlier this month that it will charge out-of-warranty service fees of $229, $329 and $2,800 for the Sport, Watch and Edition models respectively for repairs not covered by Apple's limited one-year warranty or AppleCare+ for Apple Watch. Out-of-warranty battery service is also available for $79 plus an applicable $6.95 shipping charge if required for all Apple Watch models.