Apple's year: Apple Watch launches, Apple Pay in UK and security concerns

Apple had a typically eventful year with all manner of high-profile news announcements ranging from new devices to major security problems that V3 covered in detail.

We've rounded up the most popular Apple-related content from the year gone by to see what was of most interest to V3 readers.

Best Apple Watch apps: From Outlook and Ocado to Apple Pay and Amazon

Apple launched the Apple Watch in April and, while take-up has perhaps not quite been as high as the company hoped, there was certainly interest in our round-up of the ever-growing number of apps available for the wearable.

Apple is expected to launch the second edition of the Watch next year and no doubt the list of must-have apps for the device will continue to expand.

Apple Pay UK launch: No HSBC, Lloyds or TSB but RBS and NatWest go live

Apple Pay arrived in the UK this year and was an instant hit with those who could use the service. Many couldn't at launch, although this has changed as more banks signed up. Barclays is a notable absence but that is likely to change in 2015.

Apple still to issue fix for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch SMS bug

A bizarre bug hit iPhone, iPads and Apple Watch devices earlier in the year when it was discovered that a very specific message sent via text could force phones to restart. Apple did eventually fix the flaw but not before many users were left frustrated by an unresponsive iDevice.

Apple pushes Flash update for Mac OS X following triple zero-day debacle

Apple had to issue a compulsory update forcing Mac OS X users to upgrade to the latest version of Flash in February, following the discovery of three zero-day vulnerabilities in the software.

"If you're using an out-of-date version of the Adobe Flash Player plug-in, you may see the message ‘Blocked plug-in', ‘Flash Security Alert' or ‘Flash out-of-date' when attempting to view Flash content in Safari," read the advisory.

Apple Watch: Six reasons not to buy Apple's first smartwatch yet

The arrival of the Apple Watch had many considering a purchase, but our run down of some of the reasons why it may be worth holding off was popular, suggesting that many heeded the advice.

iPad Pro: Top 10 features from Apple's 12.9in tablet

Apple unveiled a giant iPad towards the end of 2015 with its own keyboard and stylus in a move suggesting that the company was playing catch-up with Microsoft for the first time in many years.

Apple Watch has nothing to fear from Google's Android Wear for iOS infiltration attempt

Analysts were dubious that a move by Google to make it possible for Android Wear smartwatches to work with iPhones would affect the success of the Apple Watch.

Apple fixes over 100 security vulnerabilities in El Capitan, iOS and Safari

Apple released fixes for over 100 security vulnerabilities across iOS 9, Safari and the recently unveiled OS X El Capitan 10.11 in a major update issued in October.

The patches fixed a number of security problems in popular applications, including Address Book, Game Centre, Dev Tools, Mail and Terminal.

Apple issues iOS 9.1 update with security and bug fixes, and 150 emojis

Apple released its first major update to iOS 9 in the form of iOS 9.1 in October, bringing numerous security and bug fixes.

The note for the update said that it fixed a problem relating to performance of the multi-tasking function, calendar, messaging and mail apps, and stopped the Live Photo feature on the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S taking live video all the time.

The download also contained 150 new emoji messaging icons by adding support for Unicode 8.0 and 9.0.

Apple iOS Ins0mnia flaw that hides malicious apps revealed by FireEye

FireEye revealed a security flaw in Apple iOS devices in August that could allow malicious applications to stay open for an unlimited time while remaining hidden from unsuspecting users.

The flaw, which was patched by Apple in iOS 8.4.1, allowed any iOS application to bypass Apple background restrictions that usually terminate an application after three minutes and prevent applications eavesdropping on users.

Devices running a version previous to iOS 8.4.1 remained open to the vulnerability.