Apple is continuing to slowly expand its autonomous vehicle testing program in California. According to new data published by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple now has 89 drivers registered to its crew. The number of self-driving vehicles, however, remains the same at 69 vehicles. Apple’s self-driving car efforts in California have waned and waxed over the years, as chronicled by macReports. The number of drivers has changed many times over the years, with Apple’s team at one point nearing 200 crew members before dropping off....

Apple in 2020 introduced new ways to help developers boost in-app subscriptions, which include special discount codes. Now the company is finally letting developers create custom offer codes for in-app subscriptions. As announced on the Apple Developer website, developers can now create their own custom discount codes (like SPRINGPROMO) to distribute to customers, similar to what online stores already offer. Previously, discount codes were randomly generated and also one-time use, meaning that the developer had to generate a code for each person....

Ericsson has just published its 2021 accounts, and the numbers shed some light on the likely Apple patent license fees – which appear significantly lower than expected. Apple appears to be risking iPhone import bans over fees of around $100-150M per quarter. The Swedish company warned that its Q1 2022 revenues are likely to be impacted by the fact that the iPhone maker is not currently paying the fees it has been paying between 2015 and 2021 …...

Apple’s official website is currently down, and this time it’s not about a new product launch. This follows an outage that affected App Store services earlier this week just after iOS 16 was released to the public. Update: The website is back online. You can read the original article below. Apple’s website is down At first, Apple’s main webpage was still loading, but without any images. However, Apple’s official website now returns a 403 error with a message saying, “You don’t have permission to access this resource....

We’ve heard a few times that Apple has been in preliminary discussions with the NFL about acquiring the rights to its Sunday Ticket games. Now a new report from The Information says that “early talks” are continuing with a hint that Apple could be more serious about a deal. We first heard about Apple being interested enough to talk with the NFL about buying the Sunday Ticket streaming rights back in January....

Apple has been aggressively investing in Apple TV+, its own streaming platform with original movies and TV shows. While Apple TV+ market share grew in 2021, the platform is still far behind its competitors with only 5% market share in the United States. Apple has been investing in popular franchises to make its streaming platform more appealing to subscribers. The company recently ordered a live-action series of Godzilla and Titans, in addition to launching a show based on Isaac Asimov’s award-winning science fiction book series Foundation....

Apple TV+ today released a trailer for a new limited series ‘WeCrashed’, which charts the rise and fall of WeWork, one of the most controversial technology startups of recent years. The series will debut on March 18 … Based on the podcast of the same name, the show will trace how WeWork went from a fifty billion dollar valuation to zero, at the hands of CEO Adam Neumann. Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway lead the cast....

Warning: SPOILERS for Aquaman When director James Wan signed on to direct Aquaman, some fans dared to hope that his Insidious and Conjuring star Patrick Wilson might follow. And fortunately, Wilson’s portrayal of Aquaman’s iconic half-brother and rival Ocean Master lived up to the task of going toe-to-toe with star Jason Momoa. Screen Rant had the chance to interview Aquaman star Patrick Wilson ahead of the film’s release, to learn about the process of making this one of a kind fantasy, working with Jason Momoa, and bringing a refreshingly not-so-evil villain to life in the DCEU....

The cast of Arrow is teasing a “tense” court room episode as Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is put on trial for being the Green Arrow. Oliver has successfully avoided being implicated as a vigilante since he was first accused in season 1, but now - thanks to Ricardo Diaz - Oliver may not be able to find a way out. Oliver has endured threats to his secret life as a vigilante throughout the entire season....

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting exclusive on how Netflix has been trying to score some points in the wide world of streaming sports, not unlike Apple. So far, we’ve seen Apple stream a full Major League Baseball season of Friday night games, and the company bought a decade of streaming soccer rights, which starts next year. Plus, Apple TV+ already competes with the former DVD rental service on original shows and movies....

The Avengers: Endgame trailer establishes Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is stranded in space, but we have a theory that Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) will save him and get him to Earth. The ending of Avengers: Infinity War left Earth’s Mightiest Heroes devastated, losing half their numbers to Thanos’ Decimation. Those fighting Thanos and his Outriders in Wakanda were forced to watch their friends turn to dust around them. On Titan, Tony Stark watched as most of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and, finally, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) disintegrated....

Disney’s latest live-action reimagining of an animated classic, Beauty and the Beast, is due to hit theaters in only a few months and it’s already breaking records. The latest trailer for the magical film set a new trailer view record, and every moment of the two-minute look into Belle’s world is absolutely beautiful. Starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the CGI-heavy Beast, the film looks like a near-perfect adaptation of the 1991 classic animated feature....

Gamers interested in Anthem but unhappy about the title’s gameplay footage including damage counters can rest a little easier, as BioWare has confirmed that players will have the option to turn them off. The game has had a major showing of late, including being a core part of EA’s E3 2018 press conference, but not everyone was happy with the gameplay details and videos that included damage number displays. Although it’s perhaps not the most heinous crime to include this as part of the game’s display, it’s caught the ire of some of those interested in the game....

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the leader in modern mobile device management (MDM) and security for Apple enterprise and education customers. Over 22,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the management and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe. Apple’s design for enterprise security strategy has done a lot to quell the frustration with enterprise security....

Today is the payment due date for many Apple Card users, and Apple servers are suffering from a poorly-timed outage. According to Apple, “Apple Pay services are currently unavailable” and users “may not be able to add Apple Card to Wallet, pay their bill, apply for Apple Card.” Update: Apple says this issue has been resolved. Instead, Apple simply says: “Some users may not be able to add Apple Card to Wallet, pay their bill, apply for Apple Card....

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook announced the Cupertino company will be donating to “relief efforts on the ground” due to those affected by Hurricane Ian as the storm pummels Florida. As usual, Apple did not disclose how much it will donate. Tim Cook tweeted the following statement: The announcement comes in the middle of a Eurotrip the company’s CEO is taking. He already visited the UK, Germany, and he’s now in Italy to receive an honorary Master’s degree....

After releasing the Apple Music Awards early this morning, Apple is now celebrating the best podcast shows of 2021. This year, Apple Podcasts Best of 2021 features shows and creators that “provided listeners with a powerful sense of connection in a challenging and uncertain time, curated by Apple Podcasts’ world-class editorial team.” For the “Best Show of the Year” category, Apple Podcasts gave the award to “A Slight Change of Plans” with Maya Shankar from Pushkin Industries and the “Newcomer of the Year” award to “Anything for Selena” with Maria Garcia from WBUR and Futuro Studios....

One day after releasing it to developers, Apple today is releasing the latest iOS 15 beta for public beta testers. Apple refers to this as iOS 15 public beta 5 and it includes a new Weather app icon, App Store tweaks, and more. If you’re interested in signing up for Apple’s public beta testing program, you can do so via Apple’s website right here. Apple’s new software version won’t be complete until the fall, at which point it will be released to the general public....

Every summer, Apple runs an annual Back to School promotion in the United States and other countries. This promo offers students and educators an added bonus when buying a new Mac or iPad. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports today that this year’s Back to School promo is scheduled to kick off on Friday, but with a slight change compared to previous years… Apple’s 2022 Back to School promo When Apple first started the yearly Back to School promo, it offered an Apple gift card with the purchase of a qualifying Mac or iPad....