Less than a week after the release of OS X 10.11.1 beta 2, Apple has followed up with a new release that was pushed out to both developers and public beta testers at once. The 10.11.1 update will introduce bug fixes and a new collection of emoji icons.

Yesterday Apple seeded a new beta of iOS 9.1 to public testers and developers. Like the OS X update, that software will also include the new emoji set and many bug fixes. It also adds a few new features. A tvOS beta accompanied that release.

Filed under: Mac Tagged: 10.11.1, beta, el capitan, OS X

For more information about Mac, OS X, and beta continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple releases OS X 10.11.1 beta 3 to developers and public testers” with our community.

Since being acquired by Apple for $3 billion just over a year ago, we haven’t seen much in terms of new hardware from the speaker company aside from new colored headphones and a wireless version of the Solo 2’s. Beats’ most expensive speaker, the Pill XL, was actually recalled and taken off the market after a fire risk when charging was discovered. But as we get in to the holiday season, Beats is finally ready to show off its first totally new piece of hardware created since joining Apple. A step up from the Pill 2.0 but still smaller and more portable than the discontinued Pill XL, the new Beats Pill+ features a new design and comes equipped with a Lightning port for charging, a first for Beats products.

Priced at $230 (Pill 2.0 is $199 and Pill XL was $299), the new Pill+ will ship starting in November to Apple Stores and other retailers that sell Beats products. In announcing the new portable speaker, Beats gave The Verge an early hands-on look at the new Pill+:

Available in either black or white to start, Beats’ new Pill+ speaker is the first Bluetooth speaker to feature Apple’s Lightning port for charging — just like our iPhones and iPads — paired next to line-in for wired playback and a regular USB port for charging your other devices. Notice also the Apple Inc. stamp on the backside. Pill+ is said to playback audio for up to 12 hours on a single charge.

As Engadget notes, a new Beats iOS (and Android) app will accompany the brand new Pill+ when it ships next month. Following the lead of other Bluetooth speaker makers, this companion app will let you control volume, manage paired Pill+ speakers for stereo playback, and even let you connect multiple devices and manage playlists for a DJ-like experience.

No solid release date yet beyond sometime next month, but Pill+ will be available for $229 when it launches just in time for the holidays. Update: More details are up on beatsbydre.com including 3-hour charging, Beats Pill+ app info, and a way to sign up to be notified when Pill+ is available.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Beats, Pill

For more information about AAPL Company, Beats, and Pill continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Beats unveils first Lightning-equipped Pill+ Bluetooth speaker since Apple’s acquisition” with our community.

Lobbying group Citizens for Tax Justice has called out Apple, Google and Microsoft and others for what it described as “accounting tricks” in which companies “pretend” to be based overseas for tax purposes. The claims were made in a report entitled Offshore Shell Games 2015.

Many multinational corporations use accounting tricks to pretend for tax purposes that a substantial portion of their profits are generated in offshore tax havens, countries with minimal or no taxes where a company’s presence may be as little as a mailbox. Multinational corporations’ use of tax havens allows them to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year.

The group said that Apple has paid “a miniscule 2.3 percent tax rate on its offshore profits,” many of which have been entered into Apple’s books in Ireland. CTJ says that if Apple paid U.S. tax rates on those profits, it would owe $59.2 billion.

The controversy over the legitimacy of Apple’s overseas tax arrangements is not, of course, anything new … 

A 2013 Senate hearing into Apple’s tax arrangements proceeded uneventfully, while an analysis by Adam Smith Institute Fellow Tim Worstall in Forbes last year explained how Apple is able to pay such a low tax rate on sales within the UK.

What Apple Ireland does, says Worstall, is to buy a licence from Apple in Cupertino, allowing it to manufacture and sell iPhones in the UK. Apple Ireland buys all the components, pays the manufacturing costs and ships the phones to the UK to be sold both through Apple Stores and third-party resellers, aka the carriers.

Because Apple Ireland charges close to retail prices for the phones it sells to UK outlets, most of the profits are made in Ireland, and those profits are taxed at the rates allegedly agreed with the Irish government: around two percent. While the morality of this may be debatable, it is, says Worstall, perfectly legal.

Google and Microsoft both employ similar tactics.

Two academic experts told Ars Technica that these arrangements are perfectly legal, and are unlikely to change anytime soon.

“There is, of course, an alternative,” said Omri Marian, a professor at the University of California, “to change the law so Apple actually pays taxes on this income. In [the] current Congressional environment, this will happen immediately after hell freezes over.”

Samuel Brunson, a professor at Loyola University Chicago, put it more succinctly. “Individual taxpayers don’t have a strong incentive to lobby for change,” he said. “Meanwhile, Apple has a $59.2 billion incentive to lobby for the law not to be changed.”

Apple’s own position is that it pays all the taxes it is required to, as Tim Cook stated in 2013:

I can tell you unequivocally Apple does not funnel its domestic profits overseas. We don’t do that. We pay taxes on all the products we sell in the U.S., and we pay every dollar that we owe.

Apple currently holds around $180 billion in cash overseas.

Photo: Stephen Lam/Reuters

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: AAPL, Apple Inc, Multinational corporation, overseas tax, Tax, tax arrangements, United Kingdom

Continue reading more about AAPL Company, Apple Inc, and AAPL at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple, Google & Microsoft called out on “pretend” overseas tax arrangements by Citizens for Tax Justice” with our community.

At some point, a high price alone can dull your interest in something that’s otherwise desirable. Many people feel this way about Apple’s leather Apple Watch bands, which start at a jacket-like price of $149, jump to $249, then hit even crazier prices (effectively $600 and up) for versions co-developed with Hermès. Leather isn’t rare or magical, and a wristband only uses inches of it, so it’s hard to justify spending a lot of cash for something so simple.

Third-party developers agree, as evidenced by X-Doria’s Lux ($50) and Nomad’s Strap ($120-$150). Lux is an alternative to Apple’s Classic Buckle at 1/3 the price, and Strap resembles the Apple Watch Hermès Single Tour at around 1/4 the price — actually less, since you don’t need to buy a steel Apple Watch just to get it. While they’re obviously not identical to Apple’s versions, X-Doria’s and Nomad’s designs are far more affordable, giving you a luxurious look and feel on any budget…

Nomad Strap

Nomad has been making a name for itself as an Apple Watch accessory specialist, having released the beautiful metal Stand (review) and portable battery Pod (review) as upscale charging accessories. Strap is the company’s first leather Apple Watch add-on, and like its older cousins, it screams “high-quality.” Shipped in a handsome presentation box and noticeably thicker than any of the leather straps I’ve previously tested, it is designed to be softened and worn in over several days of use, developing a unique patina in the process. Nomad’s web site depicts it as it will be after a week or month on your wrist; my photos here show it fresh out of the box. (I’ll add another shot after it develops a patina.)

I’ve never particularly coveted leather watch straps until the Apple Watch came out, but the quality differences between the Italian leather Strap and low-end “genuine leather” alternatives are pronounced. Strap’s contrast stitching, reinforced eyes, and option to choose between silver or space black steel hardware are just a few details that make it look and feel leagues better than the cheap, easily damaged leather bands that are popping up online. With a suede-like outer texture and a more conventional pebbled leather inner texture, it looks like it was assembled by a careful craftsman rather than stamped out by a machine. On your wrist, it feels reassuringly solid and secure in a way that few other Apple Watch bands do — something that you’ll be happy wearing for years, rather than weeks or months.

Is Strap perfect? No. The steel Pre-V buckle is a little angular for my tastes, and nit pickers may note that the third-party lugs aren’t quite as perfect as Apple’s — a detail I only noticed when inspecting the Apple Watch off-angle, not when wearing it normally. Strap is also available solely in a 42mm size, and a single leather color that Nomad calls “unadulterated leather,” comparable in color to Hermès’ Fauve. But Strap is otherwise so impressive that it’s easy to recommend to anyone who appreciates quality leather goods. The $120 pre-order price applies until November 15, after which the price will jump to $150, closer to Apple band territory but still far below the Hermès Single Tour this Strap resembles. At either price, this is a very good value given the high quality of the design and materials.

X-Doria Lux

The best way I can describe X-Doria’s Lux ($50) is to call it a “straightforward but very nice leather band.” It’s sold in both 38mm and 42mm sizes, with pebbled black or brown leather (shown) for each size, and white croc (38mm only) or black croc (42mm only) options for people who prefer more aggressive textures. All of the hardware is chromed, a nice complement to the stainless steel Apple Watch that also works with the Apple Watch Sport.

Even though Lux looks different (with a coarser pebbled texture) and feels different (thanks to thicker leather) than Incipio’s $60 Premium Leather Band, X-Doria’s design feels just as “premium” as Incipio’s. I found the band’s tongue to be right-sized for my wrist and handsomely secured, with a lighter interior that doesn’t feel like it will irritate skin over time — an issue with cheaper leather Apple Watch bands I’ve tested. And I actively enjoyed wearing Lux; it’s comfortable, easy to put on, and looks really nice.

The only oddity is that the Lux review sample I received had a substantially different buckle than X-Doria’s photos, which depict an oval-shaped closure identical to Apple’s Classic Buckle. My Lux sample has the more common-looking D-shaped closure shown above. It’s unclear which version (or versions) X-Doria is actually shipping, but if you’re expecting the band to be identical to Apple’s, you may be surprised. This is the only question mark in an otherwise great entry-level leather band option.

More From This Author

Check out more of my reviews, editorials, and How-To guides for 9to5Mac here! I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users.

Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple watch, lux, Nomad, Strap, X-Doria

For more information about Apple watch, Apple Watch, and Nomad continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Review: X-Doria Lux, Nomad Strap bring genuine leather Apple Watch bands down to reasonable levels” with our community.

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

13″ Retina MacBook Pro (newest) 2.7GHz/8GB/256GB: $1,280 shipped (Reg. $1,499)

13″ Retina MacBook Pro (newest) 2.7GHz/8GB/128GB: $1,080 shipped (Reg. $1,299)

Over-Ear Headphones: Bose SoundTrue $100 (Reg. $120), Sennheiser HD202 $15 (Reg. $25), more

JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Sweat Proof Headphones $90 shipped (Reg. $130), more

HP AirPrint Wireless All-in-One Printers: InkJet $35 (Reg. $60), LaserJet $304 (Reg. $400+)

Amazon Student Days: Fire TV (4K model) $60, free $5 credit w/ Gift Card purchase, SanDisk 64GB Wi-Fi Flash Drive $45, more

Giveaway: Trinity Delta aluminum earbuds feature a unique design and top-notch sound ($135 value), 20% discount

More new gear from today:

Amazon Gold Box – 50% or more off Halloween Costumes: Darth Vader $17, Thor $30, Supergirl $12, more

• Games/Apps: Tales from the Borderlands goes free on iOS for the first time, Madden NFL 16 $43
• Daily Deals: Seagate 1TB Portable HDD $50, SJ-Series Gyro remote controlled Helicopter $14, more
• Pre-order Microsoft’s latest gadgets right now: Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, Band 2

Media: Battlestar Galactica Complete Series $89 (Orig. $300), Epic Series $19, more wp.me/p1xTlR-I6I http://t.co/5N8MMEYTxx

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 07, 2015

More deals still alive:

USB Power Deals: KMASHI 15,000mAh USB $14 (Reg. $20), Aukey 2A Wall Charger $8 (Reg. $16), more

• Tweetbot for Mac drops to $10 (Reg. $13)
• Philips hue Lux LED Starter Kit $60 shipped, 750-Lumen 9W LED Light Bulb $15
• Bluetooth Speakers w/ Prime Shipping: OontZ Splashproof $25 (Reg. $35), Aukey $13 (Reg. $20)
• Xbox One Gears of War bundle + 40″ HDTV $470 w/ .EDU, more
• Beyerdynamic A200p Portable DAC Headphone Amp $160 shipped (Reg. $200)
• Pebble Steel Smartwatch for iOS/Android in black or sliver $100 shipped (Orig. $230)
• Add Bluetooth/mic to any Aux speaker or headphones for $10 Prime shipped
• TiVO Roamio OTA HD DVR w/ Lifetime service for a one-time $300 fee
• VIZIO 49-inch 120Hz M-Series LED Smart 4K Ultra HDTV: $580 shipped (Reg. $720)
• Logitech Harmony Touch 15-Device Universal Remote: $100 shipped (Reg. $140)
• The Executive for iOS goes free for the first time as IGN’s Game of the Month ($5 value)
• Get a no-contract iPhone 6s from Boost Mobile for just $450 shipped (Orig. $649)
• Media: Blu-ray & DVDs from $3 –Taken 2, RoboCop & others, Jurassic World pre-order, more
• TP-LINK DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem $50, TP-LINK AC Gigabit Router $40, more
• GoPro HERO4 Session Action Camera: $249 shipped (Reg. $299)
• M-Audio Vocal Recording Bundle: USB Condenser mic w/ stand, more $79 shipped (Reg. $100)
• Garmin nüvi 6-inch GPS w/ Bluetooth (Refurb) $140 shipped (Orig. $270)
• Lenmar MAVEN iPhone 6 MFi 3,000mAh Battery Case $29 shipped (Orig. $100), more
• App Store Gorgeous Games for $1 Sale: Tengami, Superbrothers, KAMI, Icebreaker, Out There, more
• App Store Free App of the Week: Combo Quest RPG goes free for the first time ($1 value)
• UE ROLL 360 Bluetooth Speaker (all colors): $90 shipped (Reg. $100)
• Jawbone BIG JAMBOX Bluetooth Speaker (dented box) $120 shipped (Reg. $180)
• Freebies: My Sketch iOS app + Carl’s Jr. BOGO breakfast sandwich + eBooks + More!
• Freebies: Kindle Edition Kids books + Google Play music sampler + Monument Valley for Android + More!
• Kindle First Books for Oct: Infinity Lost, The Mentor, The Concealed, This Is the Night, more
• Learn to hack a Raspberry Pi: $115 (Orig. $804, CA Tax Only)
• First Generation Lytro 16GB Digital Camera $80 (Orig. $199)

32-inch TCL HDTV with built-in Roku: $180 shipped from Amazon http://ift.tt/1L4KbNv http://t.co/ikwXoIP2Tf

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 05, 2015

New products & more:

Logitech’s new Harmony Home Hub Extender lets the pizza man in with your remote

Roku’s new streaming media player supports 4K and finds your remote control for you

• Review: Rock Band 4 makes an old favorite come alive
• The new Dr. Who LEGO set looks just like TARDIS time machine
• Mattel’s retro-rebooted $30 VR View-Master is now available for iOS and Android
• Robo Wunderkind uses iOS connectivity and LEGO-like blocks to teach coding
• The Sondors eBike is loaded with features and surprisingly affordable
• EA’s new free-to-play Need for Speed No Limits is now available on iOS and Android
• These Bluetooth earbuds use your iPhone’s Lightning port to charge
• BRO Ball combines Bluetooth audio and pigskin for the ultimate tailgate companion

Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 13-inch, 9to5Toys, Amazon Prime, Amazon Student, Amazon Student Days, apple deals, AppleCare, coupon codes, Daily Deals, eBay Daily Deals, free apps, free shipping, Freebies, gaming, giveaways, headphones, iOS deals, Lunch Break, MacBook deals, New Toy of the Day, Retina MacBook Pro

Continue reading more about Tips and Tricks, 9to5Toys, and Daily Deals at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “9to5Toys Lunch Break: 256GB Retina MacBook Pro $1,280, Bose around-ear headphones $100, AirPrint Printer $35, more” with our community.

Twelve South’s family of BookArc stands for MacBooks are perhaps its best-known products, having debuted alongside the company back in 2009. Today, BookArc received a substantial redesign in the form of BookArc for MacBook ($50), which now is sized to properly support every current-generation MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro from 11.6″ to 15″. Interchangeable silicone inserts promise that the new BookArc “will be the perfect home for your current (and future) MacBook for years to come.”

The new BookArc is made from bead-blasted silver aluminum that matches the looks of most MacBooks, with a polished chamfered edge mimicking the design cue Apple introduced in iPhones, iPads, and iPods. While the “arc” shape remains the same as before, cradling the bottom of your MacBook, the cable pass-throughs have been shrunk and flattened. BookArc for MacBook is available now, and we’ll add hands-on impressions shortly.

Filed under: Mac Tagged: BookArc, dock, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Twelve South

Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of Mac, MacBook, and MacBook Air.

What do you think? Discuss “Twelve South’s new BookArc for MacBook sports chamfered edges, fits all current MacBooks” with our community.

Director Danny Boyle with the cast of Steve Jobs

Despite the film being based on Walter Isaacson’s authorized Steve Jobs biography, the upcoming Aaron Sorkin-written biopic telling the story of the late Apple co-founder isn’t being totally welcomed by Tim Cook and company. As we’ve seen play out over the last few weeks, the Apple CEO called recent movies including Sorkin’s that depict Jobs in a not entirely positive light as “opportunistic”. A counter punch then apology from Sorkin followed.

The film’s director Danny Boyle isn’t softening his words, however, calling Apple a company with “tremendous, terrifying power” in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter promoting the film. Boyle believes artists should keep corporations like Apple in check, so to speak:

“These companies are so powerful now that governments are running scared,” Boyle says. “They have such influence around the world, they’ve replaced petrochemical companies, pharmaceutical companies, they’re bigger than all of them put together and they have tremendous, terrifying power and it’s important that artists and writers are not cowed by them and if that means they’re accused of being opportunistic then so be it.”

He adds: “It’s important that we put these people in the spotlight for the reasons of their own business reasons or visionary reasons and we need to keep an eye on them.”

Aside from Boyle describing his view on the responsibility entertainers have to keep giant companies accountable, Sorkin talks about some of the backstory behind the film’s production including the shift from Sony to Universal:

“Danny wanted to shoot in San Francisco, but shooting in San Francisco added $8 million to the budget, and the movie was only supposed to cost about $25-30 million,” he tells THR. “The studio was saying, ‘No you can’t shoot in San Francisco. So Scott Rudin said, ‘Give me the movie back for a week, let me shop it around for a week, you have to let us do that.’ And Amy Pascal said ‘I’ll give it to you for a week’. Less than 24 hours later Universal had taken it and at the same time Amy was saying ‘I’ve made a big mistake you can do it in San Francisco.”

But Sorkin says by this time there was “so much bad blood between Scott and Amy” that it stayed with Universal.

You can read the full interview on THR. Steve Jobs hits select theaters on Friday followed by a full release on October 23rd.

Filed under: AAPL Company, General Tagged: Aaron Sorkin, Danny Boyle, Steve Jobs

For more information about AAPL Company, Steve Jobs, and General continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Steve Jobs movie director declares Apple has ‘terrifying power’” with our community.

Samsung has today forecast a reversal of its seven-quarter decline in profits, suggesting an impressive year-on-year hike of almost 80%. But while the company itself hasn’t released any details on where the profit is coming from, analysts cited by the WSJ and elsewhere put it down to strong growth in sales of chips and displays – not phone sales.

This suggests that Samsung is making its money by helping other manufacturers sell their phones – with Apple’s record-breaking iPhone 6s sales doubtless playing a significant role. Apple split its A9 chip orders between Samsung and TSMC.

While the mobile-phone business isn’t likely to see a significant rebound as growth in global demand for smartphones cool amid saturated markets, Samsung’s earnings are being powered by strong growth in its chip business due to tight supply and firm pricing, analysts say. Samsung’s chip unit likely accounted for about half of the company’s profit in the third quarter, analysts said, while strong sales of displays to Chinese smartphone makers also contributed to its bottom line.

Samsung is estimating that its Q3 profits rose to 7.3 trillion Korean won ($6.3B), its first year-on-year growth since the same quarter in 2013.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: a9, Apple Inc, iPhone 6s, Samsung

For more news on AAPL Company, Samsung, and Apple Inc continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Samsung sees first profit growth in two years – but thanks to Apple chips, not to phone sales” with our community.

Former Apple CEO John Sculley has told the WSJ that the Sorkin/Boyle movie Steve Jobs is “extraordinary entertainment” but depicts only one side of Jobs’ personality.

It’s extraordinary entertainment, [but] was really taking one aspect of Steve Jobs’s personality.

Part of his personality was he was a passionate perfectionist, but there were so many other parts […] The young Steve Jobs that I knew had a great sense of humor. He was on many occasions, when we were together, very warm. He cared a lot about the people he worked with and he was a good person. So, I think those aren’t the aspects that are focused on in this movie … 

Echoing comments made by Steve Wozniak, Andy Hertzfeld and others, Sculley says that the film takes a lot of liberties with the facts.

While the movie depicts two subsequent encounters between Jobs and Sculley after Jobs left Apple, in reality, there was only one. Sculley declines to reveal what Jobs said at that meeting, but he says of the film’s depiction, “There was a lot of creative license taken.”

The WSJ recently reported that Steve’s widow Laurene Powell Jobs repeatedly tried to block production of the movie. Apple, too, has been making efforts to persuade staff that there was more to Steve than is depicted in the Sorkin/Boyle biopic. Tim Cook emailed staff inviting them to ask those who knew Jobs to ask about what he was really like, and the company shared with employees some out-takes which show a relaxed and joking Jobs in the run-up to the launch of the iPhone.

The movie begins its general release on Friday on both east and west coasts, gradually rolling out nationwide between then and 23rd October.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Aaron Sorkin, Andy Hertzfeld, Apple Inc, Danny Boyle, John Sculley, Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs biopic, Steve Jobs movie, Steve Wozniak

For more information about AAPL Company, Steve Jobs, and Apple Inc continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Sculley says Steve Jobs movie is “extraordinary entertainment” but depicts only one aspect of the man” with our community.

Just a short while after the Pixar development team got their hands on the iPad Pro and praised the device’s palm rejection, Disney’s design team spent the day testing Apple’s latest tablet. Disney’s team of designers used the iPad Pro to sketch a variety of different characters from Disney classics, including Olaf from Frozen and Mickey Mouse.

The testing seemingly went well for Disney. “Let’s order a bunch,” product manager Paul Hildebrandt said at the end of a Periscope stream showcasing the device. In a separate Periscope steam, Disney animators Jeff Ranjo and Jeremy Spears used the iPad Pro to draw caricatures of each other. You can view the replay of that process at the links below.

Disney’s team of designers tested the iPad Pro with illustration apps like Pro Create and FiftyThree’s popular Paper, both of which have already been optimized for the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.

Below you can see a trio of images of Disney’s designers sketching characters like Olaf from Frozen, Mickey Mouse, and a Tiki man. You can view a replay of Product Manager Paul Hildebrandt testing the device on Periscope here and animators Jeff Ranjo and Jeremy Spears drawing caricatures of each other here and here.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple, Disney, iPad Pro, olaf

Continue reading more about iOS Devices, Apple, and iPad Pro at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Disney animators use iPad Pro to sketch characters such as Mickey and Olaf” with our community.