Apple is well known for the simple, no-frills product photos that highlight its lineup of mobile devices and as it turns out, a lot of work goes into capturing those images. The Verge interviewed Peter Belanger, a photographer who has worked with Apple for years, to shed some light on Apple's creative process. In the interview, Belanger reveals that Apple exercises extreme attention to detail when it comes to product photos, providing him with both sketches and a comprehensive shot list

According to a new report from Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun [ Google Translation ] (via AppleInsider) Sharp, one of Apple's primary display partners, will begin manufacturing LCD panels for the iPhone 5S beginning in June at its Kameyama Plant No. 1 in Japan. The site notes that Apple also sent orders to both Japan Display and LG Display, with mass production already under way, which confirms a report last month from The Wall Street Journal that suggested iPhone 5S production would begin in the second quarter

A German court has ruled that eight provisions in Apple's privacy policy are inapplicable because they run afoul of German consumer protection laws , reports Bloomberg .

Apple has been cracking down on app discovery resources in recent months, removing high profile apps like AppGratis for violating guideline 2.25 , which states the following: "Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected." A report from AllThingsD in early April indicated that AppGratis' rejection from the App Store was just the first phase of a much wider crackdown, which was today confirmed by Pocketgamer after Apple began rejecting apps that feature tools for "filtering, bookmarking, searching, or sharing recommendations." We've been contacted by one developer whose app discovery tool has recently been blocked by Apple because it includes such features, with App Store regulation 2.25 - which restricts apps that could be confused by consumers as app stores in their own right – cited within the reasoning.

comScore today released the results of its monthly rolling survey of U.S. mobile phone users for the January-March period, showing that Apple's smartphone market share rose 2.7 points from December to March, from 36.3% of total U.S. smartphone platform and hardware sales to 39%, marking a record high share for the company

According to a new report from media research firm TDG (via GigaOM ) 14% of households with broadband internet owned an Apple TV, Roku box, or similar streaming platform during a study in 2012. While that sounds like an impressive number, Smart TVs have been slowly taking over the connected TV market. 25% of households owned a smart TV that comes equipped with apps, such as those offered by manufacturers like Samsung and LG

AllThingsD shares details on a new report from J.P. Morgan analysts Gokul Hariharan and Mark Moskowitz, who unsurprisingly argue that Apple's rumored lower-cost iPhone will still be a "mid-end" device rather than competing against the true low end of the smartphone market. The analysts point to Apple's previous introductions of the iPod nano and iPad mini as cheaper versions of their parent products that were still significantly more expensive than low-end competitors due to Apple's refusal to sacrifice quality for the sake of price

As part of its quarterly earnings release today, U.S. Cellular announced that it will begin carrying Apple products later this year, although the carrier offered no additional details on its plans. "We have a number of strategies in progress to increase loyalty and attract more customers, including our announcement today that we will begin offering Apple products later this year

Apple has posted a new contest on the App Store [ Direct Link ], offering a $10,000 gift card to whomever downloads the fifty billionth app from the App Store, similar to previous promotions. Apple said during its most recent earnings call that the company has surpassed 45 billion app downloads.

After Google Now was added to the Google Search app last week, many users began complaining that the app was draining battery by constantly accessing the iPhone’s Location Services. According to a Google employee who posted on the Macworld forum (via The Next Web ), Google Now does not excessively drain battery, despite the fact that the app often causes the Location Services icon to remain active. Hi there, I’m with Google and wanted to address this issue: Reports that Google Now on iOS drains battery life are incorrect.