Apple has announced the opening of a new Design and Development Accelerator in Shanghai as part of an effort to support engineering talent and boost growth in China's iOS developer community.
Located in Pudong District, the Accelerator is being launched to give Chinese developers a chance to work closely with Apple experts to enhance their app development skills, learn how to take advantage of the latest Apple software and hardware, and get tips on app marketing and distribution.
"Developers here in China are leading the world with some of the most popular apps on the App Store, and we are proud to be providing this additional support for them," said Enwei Xie, Apple’s head of developer relations, Greater China. "From education to health to entertainment, the innovation we see here is incredible and we can't wait to see what these talented developers will come up with next."
The first Accelerator program focused on how to implement Apple's augmented reality technologies, with an in-depth look at the latest updates to ARKit 3, AR Quick Look, Reality Composer, and RealityKit. According to Apple, the range of activities includes lectures, workshops, labs, guest speakers, train the trainers, and networking on a regular basis.
Apple says Greater China has over 2.5 million app developers, and since 2010, local developers have earned over 200 billion RMB through App Store sales, with over 30 percent of those earnings made in the past year alone.
Shanghai's Accelerator follows a similar scheme Apple launched in 2017 in Bangalore, India. To attend programs, attendees must be registered members of the Apple Development Program and have an Apple ID registered in the region.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
Helping China win the technology competition. Remember. every time you purchase an Apple product you are helping China, not the US. Straight out "sell them the rope to hang you by".
Sure. Because no Americans make their living developing the OS, engineering the hardware, etc. And those American engineers who don’t exist don’t spend the paychecks they don’t receive in the US, thus keeping other Americans employed.
The only jobs that matter are jobs putting things together, right?
Apart from a lucky and talented few there are not many that can live on App Store income in the USA, whereas Singapore is expensive in terms of cost of living, the neighboring countries are not.
And there must be 3 dozen Xiaomi and Huawei corporate spies (infiltrators) embedded within that Apple app design group in China. Makes their job of pilfering Apple's software IP and ideas so much easier.
The more, the merrier. Why this is looked at in a negative light is beyond me. Increasing iOS development in the most populous country on earth seems like a winning strategy. Similar to increasing iOS development in the 2nd most populous country on earth as mentioned in the story.
