The Apple Beat: Wearables and the Nike Connection

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The wearable market is shaping up, albeit in a scattered and non-standard fashion and many believe that it is just a matter of time before Apple dives into this emerging sector of consumer technology. Nike, which has long been allied with Apple, (and which Apple CEO  Tim Cook has served as board member for close to a decade now), is said to be abandoning its Fuelband line to focus on software.

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Apple's (product) RED contributions weigh in at US $70 million

One of Apple's most high-profile charities is the (product) RED initiative which was started by U2 frontman Bono to raise awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in Africa. Since it's involvement in 2006, Apple has raised more money than any other company for (RED).

Apple has been selling various (RED) themed devices and accessories to raise awareness and funds for the charity. More notably, Apple's Jony Ive and his friend designer Marc Newson teamed up to create a bevy of limited edition products for the charity including a one-of-a-kind Mac Pro and gold Apple EarBuds as well as a rare Leica camera. The $70 million raised by Apple is the largest contribution by any one entity to the initiative.

Source: MacRumors

Apple's WWDC 2014 kicks off on June 2, devs can apply for tickets starting today

Apple will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 2 through June 6 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Interested Mac and iOS developers can apply for tickets via the WWDC website (developer.apple.com/wwdc) now through Monday, April 7 at 10:00 a.m. PDT, and tickets will be issued to attendees through random selection.

At this year’s five-day conference, developers from around the world will learn about the future of iOS and OS X, giving them the latest tools and technologies to continue creating the most innovative apps for the millions of iOS and Mac customers worldwide. WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions, over 1,000 Apple engineers, hands-on labs to help developers integrate new technologies and fine tune their apps, as well as the Apple Design Awards which showcase the best apps from the past year.

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Apple inventing technology for touchscreens to measure hard or soft touches

Apple is looking to make responsiveness and accuracy on their touch devices even more precise. A new patent for technology that will be able to tell the amount of pressure applied on its capacitive touchscreens and whether the display is receiving a hard or soft press. This new force sensing application will likely extend the range of interaction we have with iPads and iPhones beyond the tap, swipe, pinch and hold gestures we have today.

Source: AppleInsider