Trump says Tim Cook makes a 'compelling' argument against Apple paying tariffs
At a weekend meeting with Donald Trump, Tim Cook made a "compelling" argument for Apple to be exempt from tariffs.
Cook is said to have argued if Apple was forced to pay tariffs, it made it difficult to compete with other companies, such as Samsung. Trump acknowledged that it was "tough" for Apple to be paying tariffs on its China-made products when Samsung was not subject to them, but made no indication that exemption for Apple was on the cards.
Apple widens the scope of its bug bounty program, and increases top payout to $1 million
Bug bounty programs are a common way for companies to learn about problems with their hardware and software, while giving people the chance to get paid for finding them. Apple is one of the big names to run such a program, and it has at long last expanded it to included macOS.
The iPhone-maker made the announcement at the Black Hat security conference, where it also revealed that not only will its bug bounty program spread to tvOS, watchOS and iCloud as well, but also that the maximum reward is increasing to a cool $1 million.
Apple is discouraging the installation of third party batteries by displaying Battery Health warnings
In a move that is going to prove more than a little controversial, Apple is using the Battery Health feature of iOS to strongly discourage people from using cheaper third-party batteries rather than official Apple units.
Now, if you install a non-official battery in an iPhone XS, XR or XS Max, Battery Health will display a "Service" notification that is usually used to indicate that there is a problem. Click through, and you'll see a message that reads: "Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery. Health information not available for this battery".
These are the Apple Card restrictions you need to know about
Apple Card is due to launch later this month and there are a few restrictions associated with Apple's predictably-named credit card.
The Apple Card Customer Agreement document drawn up by backing creditor Goldman Sachs shows that it cannot be used to buy cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the iPhone-based digital version of the credit card cannot be used on jailbroken devices.
Apple dropping a cool $1 billion on Intel's smartphone modem business
When you are a supplier for Apple, the iPhone-maker’s moves can have a huge impact on your business. If Apple makes a change to one of its design and no longer needs a supplier, it can pretty much ruin that supplier overnight. For example, when Apple stop doing business with a sapphire glass supplier, that company literally went bankrupt.
And so, with all of that said, the folks over at Qualcomm must be chugging Pepto-Bismol tonight. Why? Because it makes modems for Apple’s iPhone, and Apple is buying a smartphone modem business from Intel for a billion dollars. In other words, if this acquisition works out, Apple may soon no longer need Qualcomm for modems.
Apple may buy Intel's modem business for $1 billion as early as next week
Apple is said to be in advanced talks with Intel with a view to buying the company's 5G modem business for a figure upwards of $1 billion.
Following legal wrangles and fallings out with Qualcomm, Apple eventually came to an agreement with the firm, but now it seems that the iPhone-maker is turning its attention to Intel. The deal is said to include a portfolio of patents and staff.
Chinese border officers are gathering data from tourists' phones with a secret spy app
China's track record with privacy violations, control of the internet and control of its citizens is well known. But now anyone who has ever visited the country has cause for concern.
Enter China via the border crossing between Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan, and you're required to hand over your phone -- unlocked. This would obviously lead the owner to expect a little rooting around by officials, but an investigation has found that border officials are actually installing secret spy apps on iPhones and Android phones to scour emails, texts and other data stored on devices.
Apple teams up with Best Buy to expand repair services to hundreds of stores
The next time you have a problem with your Apple product -- be it an iMac, MacBook, iPhone or iPad -- you could take it to Best Buy for repair rather than an Apple store.
The new repair options are thanks to Apple's expansion of its authorized service network. There are almost 1,000 Best Buy stores with over 7,600 newly Apple-certified Geek Squad technicians ready to help you out.
Apple agrees to warn users if iOS updates will slow down iPhones
An update to any operating system, be it mobile or desktop, is a mix-bag of positives and negatives. Exciting new features have deprecation as a counterpoint, and while there is always the hope that updates will improve things, there is always the danger that things will actually get worse.
If you're concerned that updating your iPhone to the latest version of iOS will result in a reduction in performance, there's some good news. Apple has agreed to warn people if an update is "expected to materially change the impact of performance management on their phones".
Privacy: Twitter 'inadvertently' collected and shared location data of some users
Social media services are hardly regarded as bastions of privacy, and the latest slip-up by Twitter goes some way to showing why. Twitter has revealed that it "may have accidentally collected location data" about users, that this data was shared with one of its "trusted partners".
Twitter blames the "inadvertent" data collection on a bug, and says that the issue affects some iOS users. It also says that precise location data was not collected or shared, but zip code or city-level only.
US Supreme Court rules antitrust case can proceed against Apple's 'monopolistic' App Store practices
The US Supreme Court has said that consumers can sue Apple for allegedly violating antitrust laws with its App Store.
A group of iPhone owners were seeking to bring a class action lawsuit against the company, and now Justice Brett Kavanaugh has said they can do so. The group says that in charging a 30 percent commission, Apple was making users overpay for apps, and that the requirement for apps to be sold through the App Store was unfair.
Apple responds to parental control app removal controversy
Apple has been upsetting developers of parental control apps recently by asking them to restrict their offerings in various ways, or simply removing them from the App Store. Critics say that this is because the apps compete with iOS's Screen Time feature.
Apple has now responded to the criticism, denying that this is the reason for its interference with and removal of apps. The company insists its actions had nothing to do with killing off the competition, but says that several parental control apps were delisted because "they put users' privacy and security at risk".
After launching Screen Time, Apple is interfering with competing third party parental control apps
With iOS 12, Apple introduced Screen Time, a feature that serves as a parental control tool and encourages periods away from the screen. Tim Cook said last year that he thought he used his phone too much (more recently adding, "we don't want people using their phones all the time"), and Screen Time is Apple attempt to muscle in on the countering of "phone addiction".
For those who are concerned about how much they are using their phone, or who are concerned about their children, it seems like a great feature. But for app developers who have spent years crafting tools that offered these options before Apple, the news is not so good. A new report reveals that Apple is interfering with apps that compete with Screen Time, even going as far as de-listing them without warning.
Shocking! Apple launches voluntary recall and exchange program for some power adapters
Apple has announced a voluntary recall of some of its AC wall plug adapters and Apple World Travel Adapter Kits over fears that they could cause electric shocks.
While the number of known incidents is low -- Apple says there have been just six worldwide -- there is a risk of the wall plug adapters breaking and causing a shock if touched. The recall relates solely to three-prong wall plug adapters, not USB power adapters. Anyone who has one of the adapters can obtain a replacement free of charge.
Google Fit comes to Apple iPhone
Obesity is a huge problem in the USA and other parts of the world. Not only does being obese lead to sickness and death, but it causes healthcare costs to skyrocket, which harms everyone's bank account. Not to mention, being fat simply doesn't feel good -- carrying extras weight is uncomfortable and can lead to joint pain.
So yeah, since obesity is bad, many people try very hard to lose weight, but sadly, many fail. Why? Putting on the pounds is much easier than taking them off, and since progress can be slow, it is easy to lose motivation. Thankfully, technology is helping folks to stay motivated. No, wearable devices and fitness apps won't cause weight loss on their own, but they can assist when added to a healthy diet and exercise plan.
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