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This week on AppleInsider: Self-driving Apple Cars, Apple TV plans, corporate diversity & more

Groundwork continued to be laid this week for Apple's rumored Sept. 9 press event, but the news that stole the show was the revelation that Apple is not only working on an electric car, but a self-driving one, as some had speculated.

Reports conflict on fate of 'iPhone 6c'

Although reports are unanimous that Apple will launch two flagship iPhones this fall,a more controversial matter has been whether there will be a third, budget device known as the iPhone 6c. One report from a normally trustworthy source asserted that there will be, but another indicated that only two online identifiers for new iPhones have been spotted in the wild.

Even if the device does exist, details have been mostly speculative. It could potentially have a 4-inch screen but the internals of the iPhone 6, while abandoning the plastic back used for the iPhone 5c in favor of metal.

OS X, iOS & iTunes get simultaneous updates

A rare conjunction on Thursday saw Apple release OS X 10.10.5, iOS 8.4.1, and iTunes 12.2.2 all on the same day. The OS X update was primarily a maintenance update, but also closed the dangerous DYLD_PRINT_TO_FILE privilege escalation exploit.

The iOS and iTunes updates were aimed directly at improving Apple Music and its associated features, including Beats 1 radio and Connect artist blogs.

Official diversity numbers show more minority Apple recruits

Apple released its second-ever diversity report, in which it noted a 65 percent increase in women recruits, as well as a 50 percent increase in black hires, and a 66 percent jump in Hispanic ones. During the first six months of the year, half of the company's American hirings involved female, black, Hispanic, and/or Native American workers.

The company commented that it still has progress to make. Globally, 70 percent of its workforce remains male. In the U.S., the company is still 54 percent white.

New Apple TV in September, streaming TV service delayed

Sources told Bloomberg on Thursday that while Apple is indeed planning to launch a new Apple TV set-top next month, a long-rumored streaming TV service won't arrive until 2016. The company allegedly wanted to announce both simultaneously, but is still struggling with content deals, and may not have sufficient cloud infrastructure for fast streaming.

The service will reportedly cost $40 per month, above some estimates. Past rumors have indicated that the new set-top will have an A8 processor, Siri, a touch-based remote, and its own App Store.

Apple eyes test space for self-driving car

On Friday, British publication The Guardian said that Apple is looking to rent a 2,100-acre property near San Francisco to test a self-driving car. An official in charge of the property, known as GoMentum Station, confirmed talks with Apple, but nothing more.

Apple is generally believed to be working on an automotive product under the codename "Project Titan," but until now there was no clear evidence that it would be anything beyond an electric car. A self-driving vehicle could put the company head-to-head with the likes of Google, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz, which have all been developing similar technology.

AppleInsider podcast

Our editors this week gabbed about Apple's Sept. 9 event, Google and Alphabet, and Samsung's new products like the Galaxy Note 5 and the Gear S2 smartwatch.

Unbeatable Back-to-School Deals

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