Apple News

Apple has announced that it will be offering two-hour shipping on items in its stores for a limited time. The company said the new service, which costs $5, is available “in most metros.” 

"With convenient delivery and pickup methods, Apple is making it easier and safer to get the products you want," Apple said on its website.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, deliveries will be contactless. Drivers can also ask for verbal confirmation that the customer received the item instead of having them sign for it. 

Adapting to the pandemic

This isn’t the first time Apple has modified its operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the tech giant said its reopened stores would have “Express” windows outdoors where customers could pick up orders or get items repaired.

Apple says its new delivery option is available for “eligible in-stock items.” 

Consumers who don’t need an item within two hours can choose the company’s free next-day delivery option, which is available for any in-stock Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, or Apple Watch. The company notes that customers can get free two-day delivery on “almost everything else.” 

Apple is launching new “App Privacy” labels in the App Store with the aim of providing greater transparency about its app privacy practices. 

The company announced its plan to add these privacy “nutrition labels” back in June at WWDC. At the time, Apple said it wanted to better inform consumers about the privacy practices of apps on the App Store. 

The App Privacy labels give iOS users up-to-date information on each app’s privacy practices. Apple said the summaries of privacy practices are meant "to help you decide if it works for you."

Three categories

Labels are broken into three data collection categories: “data used to track you,” “data linked to you,” and “data not linked to you.”

“Data linked to you” refers to any data that can be used to identify a user. An app would have this type of data in cases where the user supplied their name, age, or other information when creating a profile on an app. Apps will also have “data linked to you” if they collect specific information about you, such as your birthday or previous work history.

“Data not linked to you” refers to diagnostic data, such as location data or browsing history, collected by an app but not able to be tied to the user.

“Data used to track you” means that user or device data was linked and collected from an app, website, or advertising profile. This category also refers to device and user data shared by the app with data brokers. 

“A transparent overview of an app’s privacy practices is key to building trust with potential users,” the company said. “Developers now have the opportunity to detail their app’s privacy practices right in the App Store for users to review, including the types of data the apps might collect, whether that data is shared with third parties, and the option for users to opt out.”

‘Personal data’ definition

Apple has also updated its privacy policy, making it easier to read and giving users a clearer picture of what Apple considers personal data. 

“At Apple, we believe strongly in fundamental privacy rights — and that those fundamental rights should not differ depending on where you live in the world. Thatʼs why we treat any data that relates to an identified or identifiable individual or that is linked or linkable to them by Apple as ‘personal data,’ no matter where the individual lives,” the company said. 

“This means that data that directly identifies you — such as your name — is personal data, and also data that does not directly identify you, but that can reasonably be used to identify you — such as the serial number of your device — is personal data.” 

Apple has agreed to pay $113 million to settle lawsuits stemming from the battery throttling scandal, better known as “batterygate.” 

In 2017, a barrage of customers accused Apple of deliberately slowing the speed of older iPhones. Apple said the feature was designed to protect and extend the lifespan of aging devices, but customers contended that Apple was in the wrong because it didn’t state upfront that it would slow the speed of older models.

To make amends, Apple offered $29 battery replacements and tweaked its settings to make its battery-management practices more clear to users -- but that didn’t stop the lawsuits from pouring in. The company agreed to a $500 million class action settlement earlier this year, and now it has agreed to a second settlement. 

The tech giant will pay an additional $113 million as part of a settlement with 34 states. In this suit, state attorneys general argued that Apple concealed the battery-throttling feature from iPhone owners knowing that it could profit off of consumers who thought they needed to buy an entirely new iPhone rather than just a new battery.

“Big Tech must stop manipulating consumers and tell them the whole truth about their practices and products,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement. “I’m committed to holding these goliath technology companies to account if they conceal the truth from their users.”

Apple has not admitted wrongdoing, and the settlement doesn’t require it to do so. 

Apple has begun accepting orders for its new iPhone 12 models, as well as its HomePod Mini smart speaker. 

The company’s iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 mini are set to become available in stores November 13, but Apple announced on Friday that it has started accepting preorders for the devices. Apple’s new smart speaker, which will hit shelves on November 16, is also available to order for $99. 

Apple traditionally rolls out new iPhones in September, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays. This year, the tech giant held an event in October to let consumers know what new models were on the way. 

The new iPhone 12 Pro Max, which boasts the largest display ever on an iPhone at 6.7 inches, starts at $1,099. Compared to the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple says the Pro Max offers better low-light camera performance. 

The iPhone 12 Mini packs in many of the same features consumers will find on the regular iPhone 12, but in a “thinner, lighter” package. Prices for this option start at $699.

Both of the new models are expected to be in short supply due to manufacturing issues linked to the pandemic. Quick pre-order sellouts are expected. 

If an iPhone 12 happens to be on your holiday gift list, it might be a good idea to order it as soon as possible. Apple may be facing a shortage of a key chip for the device, according to published reports.

Bloomberg News quotes insiders who say the tech giant is having trouble getting access to enough computer chips that manage the iPhone’s power usage. That shortage, they say, could make it harder for Apple to meet the demand for the recently released device.

Apple introduced the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini last month, both offering 5G speed and an array of technology upgrades. Both devices are available for pre-ordering on Friday. The phones feature the A14 Bionic chip -- “the fastest chip in a smartphone” -- an advanced dual-camera system, and a Super Retina XDR display with the Ceramic Shield front cover that the company claims will increase drop performance by four times. 

iPhone 12 models also introduced MagSafe, which the company says offers high-powered wireless charging and an “all-new ecosystem” of Apple-made and third-party accessories that attach to the new iPhones.

Priority delivery

Bloomberg’s sources tell the news agency that Apple has been told it will get priority delivery of the power-managing chips from its suppliers. Unfortunately, the entire industry has faced a periodic shortage of all types of microchips because the pandemic has slowed production and snarled supply chains.

When Apple reported quarterly earnings in October, CEO Tim Cook warned investors that Apple, along with the rest of the industry, was running up against supply constraints that were posing challenges to production. 

At the time, he did not mention a type of computer chip that is in short supply. He said the issue was also providing headwinds for the production of other Apple devices. Cook said it is hard to estimate how long the supply problems might last.

According to Bloomberg, Apple secures most of its iPhone chips from Texas Instruments and Qualcomm. It says Apple designed the power-management chip in-house.

Apple has announced that it is aware of "sound issues" on some AirPods Pro, so it has launched a free service program to replace faulty earphones.

On a support page created Friday, the company said that a “small percentage” of consumers have experienced crackling or static sounds while using their earphones or have found that they offer ineffective active noise-cancellation. 

Apple said the affected units were manufactured before October 2020.

The tech giant has launched an AirPods Pro exchange program that will allow consumers to replace faulty AirPods Pro at no cost. However, Apple says the devices must have one of the following flaws:

• Crackling or static sounds that increase in loud environments, with exercise or while talking on the phone; or

• Active Noise Cancellation not working as expected, such as a loss of bass sound, or an increase in background sounds, such as street or airplane noise.

According to MacRumors, ‌AirPods Pro‌ users first began reporting sound issues in April. Most users complained about the issues listed above.

Apple has announced that it will open up more “Express” stores to make it easier for consumers to pick up orders amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reports. 

At “Express” locations, consumers will see a wall built in front of the main Apple store with sales counters protected by plexiglass. Customers can quickly pick up an order they placed online or speak with an Apple associate behind the glass for in-person service. 

The retailer started testing the store format last month in California, calling it “a swifter way for us to serve customers.” 

“It allows us to maintain all the appropriate social distancing and maintain all of our health protocols within our stores,” retail SVP Deirdre O’Brien told Reuters.

Apple has now opened 20 Express stores across the U.S. and Europe and plans to have more than 50 Express locations by the end of October. The launch of the new format coincides with the launch of the company’s new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, as well as the holiday season. 

The retailer’s past efforts to keep customers safe during the pandemic have included temporarily closing all of its retail stores outside of China. Apple has reopened most of its stores in recent months, although some have temporarily closed again due to spikes in COVID-19 cases. A list of the stores currently open can be found on Apple’s website. 

As forecast, Apple’s new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini have made their debut, and they pack quite a punch. At the top of the list of upgrades is 5G speed. 

But Apple knows that speed alone won’t be reason enough for consumers to pick up the new device. Its competitors, like Samsung, are already producing 5G phones to keep up with quickly expanding 5G networks. To get as far ahead of the competition as possible, Apple is also adding the A14 Bionic chip -- “the fastest chip in a smartphone” -- an advanced dual-camera system, and a Super Retina XDR display with the Ceramic Shield front cover which it claims will increase drop performance by four times. 

iPhone 12 models also introduce MagSafe, which the company says offers high-powered wireless charging and an “all-new ecosystem” of Apple-made and third-party accessories that attach to the new iPhones.

Pricing and Availability

All of these new bells and whistles don’t come cheap. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB models starting at $799 and $699, respectively. Consumers can also go the monthly route for $22.87 a month for the iPhone 12 and $18.70 for the iPhone mini. If consumers have another device to trade in, the total price could drop to $549 and $449, respectively.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 begin Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23. The iPhone 12 mini will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, November 6, and will appear in stores beginning Friday, November 13.

Other features

On top of the upgrades in speed, camera, etc., here’s other iPhone features ConsumerAffairs found that might be of interest: 

• Color: The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini come in five aluminum finishes, including blue, green, black, white, and red.

• Extended battery life: Apple claims that its new Smart Data mode should extend battery life by “intelligently assessing 5G needs and balancing data usage, speed, and power in real time.”

• More responsive: People who use their phones for things like video games and streaming are a good target for the iPhone 12. Apple promises higher quality streaming and more responsive gaming capabilities, as well as real-time interactivity within apps.

• More resistant: For the clumsy among us, Apple has come to the rescue. Both new iPhone 12 models have water resistance up to approximately 20 feet for up to 30 minutes. The company says they are also durable enough to withstand everyday spills from drinks like coffee and soda.

• iOS 14: The cherry on top might be the newest Apple operating system -- iOS 14 -- that’s built into the iPhone 12. The latest system software offers new ways to customize the Home Screen and a new App Library that automatically organizes all of a user’s apps into one simple, easy-to-navigate view. “iOS 14 also brings new ways to discover and use apps with App Clips, powerful updates for staying connected in Messages, greener ways to explore cities with Maps, and enhanced privacy features for even more transparency and control,” the company promised.

Extra perks

To sweeten the deal, Apple has a number of bonuses it’s going to pass along to iPhone buyers. Those include:

• One year of Apple TV+ for free and three months of Apple Arcade for free. (Note: this is a limited time offer.)

• U.S. customers get 3 percent cash back when they buy directly from Apple using an Apple credit card. If they choose Apple Card Monthly Installments, they can pay over time and interest-free.

• Every person who buys an iPhone from Apple will also be offered a free Online Personal Session with an Apple Specialist. This professional can help users get comfortable with their new device and show off some of the cool things it can do. 

Not to be outdone by Walmart, Amazon, or Target’s special single-day promotions, Apple has jumped on the bandwagon with a “speed” event of its own on Tuesday, October 13.

Analysts -- or should we say people who know how to interpret Apple’s teaser campaigns -- believe the company’s invitation to the event, which included the phrase “Hi, Speed,” likely means the company is going to unveil its long-awaited iPhone 12 with 5G service.

This year’s release date is later than usual for iPhones. Apple usually rolls out new devices in mid-September, but company executives had cautioned investors that new models likely wouldn’t be available until October. 

What’s to expect in the way of new iPhones

If you’re an Apple person, here’s what you can start dreaming about:

Size: MacRumors says it’s placing its bets on four iPhones in three different sizes -- the most affordable being the ‌iPhone 12‌, which will come in 5.4, and 6.1-inch size options. If the 5.4-inch version makes the party, it will be the smallest ‌iPhone‌ that Apple has released in a while, and word has it that it could even be called the "‌iPhone 12‌ mini." 

For iPhone lovers who think that size matters when it comes to phones, MacRumors expects there to be a 6.1-inch iPhone 12‌ Pro and a 6.7-inch ‌iPhone 12‌ Pro Max, the largest display size that Apple has ever offered.

Camera: To stay ahead of the photography curve, it’s also expected that the new iPhones will have upgraded camera technology, featuring scanner technology that was introduced in the recent iPad Pro release.

Audio: Apple watchers say it’s possible that the company will also release new AirPods with over-ear wireless headphones and tags so users can find lost items using wireless pings.

Speed: Another copy-and-paste inclusion from the latest iPad Pro may be quicker 5-nanometer A14 chips, which should boost the phone’s performance and prowess.

Missing in action: iPhone users have been slowly weaned off accessories that Apple used to bundle with every iPhone. Two of those are the power adapter and earbuds. “Because 5G technology is expensive, Apple is planning to eliminate the power adapter and earbuds that traditionally come with an ‌iPhone‌, instead offering a separate power adapter for purchase,” MacRumors Juli Clover forecasted.

“A braided Lightning to USB-C cable could be included, however, and the power adapter rumor has been all but confirmed by the Series 6 Apple Watches, which were also shipped without a power adapter.”

Apple Mac owners who want to use their computers to stream Netflix 4K, ultra high definition (UHD) content might be in for a rude awakening. Reports indicate that when Apple’s next system software is released -- macOS Big Sur -- Netflix will only stream in 4K to Macs that have a T2 security chip. Apple has not confirmed a release date for Big Sur, but it’s widely believed that it will be available sometime this fall.

Apple started producing Macs with the T2 chip in 2018. The basic list of the models that have the chip built in are:

• iMac introduced in 2020

• iMac Pro

• Mac Pro introduced in 2019

• Mac mini introduced in 2018

• MacBook Air introduced in 2018 or later

• MacBook Pro introduced in 2018 or later

If your Mac was purchased in the last two years but isn't on that list, Apple has an easy method to find out if your device has the T2 chip.

Two other small caveats are that you can only stream 4K content through Apple’s Safari browser. Other browsers -- Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox -- apparently will limit you to 720p on a Mac. 

Additionally, only Netflix Premium subscribers will reportedly have to worry about the conundrum since 4K content is only available on that subscription level. If you are on that plan and still experience issues, ConsumerAffairs found this list of FAQs and workarounds on Netflix’ site.

Why is this happening?

The simplest explanation ConsumerAffairs could find for this situation is that the T2 chip has the ability to process High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) twice as fast as its predecessor, the T1 chip. 

Consumers can expect more devices and services to be HEVC-ready -- traditional TVs, cable, satellite, fiber, tablets, and smartphones. HEVC is so well-loved that it won a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award in 2017 for having a significant effect on television technology.

Netflix does offer 4K streams in its Premium plan. With high definition becoming a bigger thing, video lovers can expect to see more content in that format and from favored streaming services like YouTube.

Is your iPhone or Apple Watch’s battery life not what you think it should be, or is its GPS app not recording locations during activities like you expect it to?

You’re not alone. MacRumours reports that a good number of online support threads are complaining about the same things.

Most of the complaints say that when an Apple Watch user records, say, a workout on their device, but with their ‌iPhone‌ at home, the Activity app only shows the starting point of the workout. Some users have also griped about a battery issue for Apple Watch devices running system watchOS 7 and ‌iPhone‌ ‌iOS 14. 

The potential symptoms

• Battery drain: Increased or what the user thinks is excessive battery drain on the ‌iPhone‌ and/or Apple Watch.

• Apps won’t launch or load data: Health-related apps like Activity and Heart Rate fail to launch or load data on the Apple Watch and/or on the ‌iPhone‌.

• Workout route maps: Missing in the Fitness app on ‌iPhone‌ for earlier GPS-enabled workouts connected to your Apple Watch.

• Inaccurate data storage volume: The Health app or Fitness app shows what a user might consider to be an inaccurate amount of data storage on the ‌iPhone‌ and/or the Apple Watch.

• Sound level data missing: The environmental sound levels data or the headphone audio levels data from Apple Watch is missing in the Health app on ‌iPhone‌.

Apple’s recommendations 

The support threads were ripe with fixes, but Apple has suggested the following advice if a user is experiencing two or more of the symptoms listed above: 

• Unpair the Apple Watch;

• Do a backup of both the ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch;

• Then, erase all content and settings on both devices and restore from the backup. 

Apple provides steps to accomplish these tasks in this support document published Thursday.

Here’s one you don’t come across every day. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed an earlier judgment in Apple’s favor and says the tech giant has to pay store employees in California for the time they spent waiting for their bags to be checked by security officers at the close of each shift.

The five-year old case began when a cadre of California-based Apple store employees filed a class action lawsuit against the company. They argued that under a state wage order, the company is required to pay employees for bag checks for the simple fact that the company wields control over the employees in that situation. 

Workers said that there were some workdays where they had to twiddle their thumbs for 45 minutes for a manager or security officer to show up and do a bag search.

Comply or else

The Apple policy that the employees were fighting against is one they first ran into in 2009 when they first became Apple store employees. 

In that policy, Apple didn’t mince words, saying that “failure to comply with this policy may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.”

Apple tried its best to dispute the claims, contending that its policy wasn’t a one-size-fits-all procedure because some class members “did not bring bags or devices to work,” “were never required to participate in checks,” or “worked in stores with remote break rooms where they stored their belongings.” It also disputed whether the policy was enforced through discipline.

The appeals court ruled that, yes, those points might be disputable if this was a single worker vs. Apple, but it didn’t hold water as to class-wide relief.

App developers will now have a bigger voice on the Apple App Store platform. The company announced on Monday that it is rolling out an appeals process that will allow developers to dispute whether their apps violate Apple’s guidelines. 

The new process, which was first announced by the company at an annual conference back in June, may represent a big shift for developers. In an update on its site, Apple indicated that it will be streamlining how it addresses certain issues and taking suggestions about how it can improve its platform.

“For apps that are already on the App Store, bug fixes will no longer be delayed over guideline violations except for those related to legal issues. You’ll instead be able to address guideline violations in your next submission,” the company told developers. 

“In addition to appealing decisions about whether an app violates guidelines, you can suggest changes to the guidelines. We also encourage you to submit your App Store and Apple development platform suggestions so we can continue to improve experiences for the developer community.”

Repair shops more plentiful

This isn’t the only change that Apple has made recently. Earlier this month, the company announced that it would be authorizing more repair shops to work on devices like iPhones and Mac computers. 

The move followed many years in which Apple and those same repair shops butted heads about the latter’s right to repair the company’s devices. Critics accused the company of providing preferential treatment of brands like Best Buy by demanding outrageous commitments in terms of repair volume.

Apple is expanding a major portion of its repair program. On Monday, the company announced that its existing repair arrangement that allows independent repair shops to work on iPhones is now going to include Mac computers, as well.

While the company didn’t come right out and say it, COVID-19 had to have a play in the decision. When a consumer goes to Apple’s repair site, they’re confronted with a heads-up that “Apple support options are currently limited. Thank you for your patience and understanding.” 

Only last month, Apple announced plans to convert retail staff to online assistance in the face of the pandemic.

No more playing favorites

In Reuter’s reporting of the shift, Apple’s recasting of how repairs are handled comes after many years of complaints from right-to-repair groups that had criticized the company for playing favorites with companies like Best Buy. 

The biggest beef from those groups whas that Apple provided genuine parts and training manuals to them and completely cut others out of the picture. Another major complaint -- especially from smaller shops -- was that Apple’s repair authorization program demanded a commitment to a certain volume of repairs that they’d have a hard time honoring.

Apple’s strict standards didn’t stop others from pretending to be Apple-authorized, though. If a consumer is looking to replace a battery in their MacBook Pro and searches for “repair my Mac near me,” they’d be hit with a number of repair shops that say they can offer that service. 

However, when ConsumerAffairs checked out some of those shops, many didn’t show up in Apple’s database of Authorized Service Providers and Independent Repair Providers.

Hopefully, all that will change soon. With the enhancement of its independent repair program, Apple will begin distributing parts and providing free training courses to independent repair shops, giving them all the tools they need to perform out-of-warranty work.

Apple announced on Monday that its upcoming iOS 14, which is set to launch this fall, will include a number of new privacy features. 

At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which was online-only due to the coronavirus crisis, the tech giant said iOS 14 will include new protections against user tracking on apps and websites. 

The new software will feature indicators that let users know when an app is using their microphone or camera. If either is activated, users’ iPhones will show an orange dot in the upper right corner of the screen.

"All of our product work is grounded in a set of privacy principles," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering. 

New labels for app permissions 

Apple has also integrated new labels for app permissions. Users will see how much data an app requests before downloading it, as well as what developers plan to do with their data. Under iOS 14, app developers must self-report whether the information they will collect falls under the category of "Data Linked To You" and "Data Used to Track You." 

"For food, you have nutrition labels," said Erik Neuenschwander, Apple's user privacy manager. "So we thought it would be great to have something similar for apps. We're going to require each developer to self-report their practices."

With this feature, users can choose to grant permissions for a day, when in use, or forever. 

CarKey function

Apple also revealed that iOS 14 will allow some users to unlock their car using a functionality called CarKey. Those with vehicles that support the new feature will be able to pair their phone with their car and use the device to unlock and start it. 

For the feature, near-field communication (NFC) will be used to securely communicate with a user’s car. The information collected for this functionality will be stored in the same place that Apple stores credit card information in iPhones, meaning it’s protected by Face ID or Touch ID and Apple won’t know when a user locks or unlocks their car. 

Federighi said car keys have “been around for over 100 years but they've become big, bulky and ripe for reimagining.” The new digital key will first be available for the 2021 BMW 5 Series, and Apple plans to expand it to other car models after that. 

On Tuesday, the European Commission announced that it will launch two new antitrust probes: one into Apple’s App Store rules and another into Apple’s “Apple Pay” platform. 

The watchdog group said the investigations will focus on determining whether Apple’s rules for app developers on the distribution of apps via the App Store violate EU competition rules. 

Apple charges companies that put their apps on the app store 30 percent from in-app purchases and 30 percent on subscriptions for the first year. Companies are then charged 15 percent from there on out. EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said it appears that Apple “obtained a ‘gatekeeper’ role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple’s popular devices.” 

Ensuring compliance with competition rules

Spotify, one of Apple’s competitors, has taken issue with Apple’s policies in recent years, saying in a March 2019 complaint that the tech giant deliberately limits consumer choice and stifles innovation. 

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said Apple essentially acts “as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers.” A complaint on the matter was also lodged by Kobo, an e-reader company that competes with Apple Books.  

Vestager said the EU is looking to ensure that Apple’s rules don’t “distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books.” 

Apple Pay investigation

In an effort to ensure Apple isn’t breaching EU competition rules through its Apple Pay service, the group will be looking into Apple’s terms and conditions for integrating Apple Pay in apps and websites, the company’s limitation of access to NFC technology, and alleged refusals of access to Apple Pay. 

“It appears that Apple sets the conditions on how Apple Pay should be used in merchants’ apps and websites,” Vestager said. “It also reserves the ‘tap and go’ functionality of iPhones to Apple Pay. It is important that Apple’s measures do not deny consumers the benefits of new payment technologies, including better choice, quality, innovation and competitive prices.”

The EU reserves the right to shut down tech services and charge U.S. tech firms 10 percent of their annual revenues. Separately, the Commission is planning to file an antitrust charge against Amazon in the coming weeks for allegedly using data from third-party sellers to directly compete against them.

Apple Stores were impacted by looting and protests stemming from the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and have subsequently been closed. 

Now, those who looted or purchased stolen iPhones are finding that they don’t work; in fact, they may even be tracked by Apple or U.S. authorities. The problem could affect consumers who purchase second-hand iPhones in the coming months. 

Those with devices that were allegedly looted from Apple stores found that they had been automatically disbaled and displayed messages like, “Please return to Apple Walnut Street. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted.” 

Apple’s mission

Apple has used special OS images on demo devices in the past, as well as a software “kill switch” that disables them when they go out of range of the store’s Wi-Fi. 

Company CEO Tim Cook said in a memo to employees that “there is a pain deeply etched in the soul of our nation and in the hearts of millions. To stand together, we must stand up for one another, and recognize the fear, hurt, and outrage rightly provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd and a much longer history of racism.”

Cook added that “at Apple, our mission has and always will be to create technology that empowers people to change the world for the better. We’ve always drawn strength from our diversity, welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world, and strived to build an Apple that is inclusive of everyone.”

For now, Apple hasn’t said when it plans to reopen its stores. 

Apple has agreed to pay $18 million to settle a 2017 lawsuit accusing it of deliberately breaking FaceTime in iOS 6 in order to get users to upgrade to iOS 7.

The suit claimed the company disabled FaceTime on the iPhone 4 and 4S in an effort to trim costs. Due to a 2012 patent dispute, Apple was previously relying on third-party servers for its peer-to-peer method of direct connection, which cost it millions of dollars. 

Apple eventually created new peer-to-peer technology and released it in iOS 7. Plaintiffs in the case claimed Apple’s motive in “breaking” FaceTime was to cut costs, since it would no longer need to support users who did not upgrade to iOS 7. 

‘We broke iOS 6’

Apple claimed in the suit that a bug caused a compatibility issue. According to AppleInsider, an Apple engineering manager said in an email chain: 

"Hey, guys. I'm looking at the Akamai contract for next year. I understand we did something in April around iOS 6 to reduce relay utilization.” 

Another engineer said, "It was a big user of relay bandwidth. We broke iOS 6, and the only way to get FaceTime working again is to upgrade to iOS 7."

Apple has agreed to pay $18 million to settle the case, however a majority of the money will go towards attorney fees and expenses, according to Law360. Class action members will only get $3 per affected device.

Without a formal unveiling event, Apple announced on Wednesday that it’s launching a new, more affordable iPhone. 

The second-generation iPhone SE looks practically identical to the 2017 iPhone 8, but it’s set to cost $399 compared to its predecessor’s $449 starting price. The new device also features a suite of new features, including a more powerful processor and screen enhancements.

In an announcement, Apple called the new device its “most affordable” yet and outlined several features consumers can expect to find. 

“The new iPhone SE is powered by the Apple-designed A13 Bionic, the fastest chip in a smartphone, to handle the most demanding tasks,” the company said. “iPhone SE also features the best single-camera system ever in an iPhone, which unlocks the benefits of computational photography including Portrait mode, and is designed to withstand the elements with dust and water resistance.” 

Camera upgrades

Apple’s A13 processor helps the new iPhone SE take “amazing photos with Smart HDR, stunning portraits with Portrait mode including all six Portrait Lighting effects,” Apple said. “And with QuickTake, users can easily transition to video recording without switching out of Photos mode.” 

Features carried over from the iPhone 8 include wireless charging, a physical home button with Touch ID instead of facial recognition, and IP67 water and dust resistance. 

The $399 base model comes with 64 GB of storage; the mid-level model comes with 128 GB of storage and costs $449, and the top tier model comes with 256 GB of storage and costs $549. Consumers who purchase the new device are also eligible for a free year of Apple TV+.

“The first iPhone SE was a hit with many customers who loved its unique combination of small size, high-end performance and affordable price; the new second-generation iPhone SE builds on that great idea and improves on it in every way,” Phil Schiller, Apple’s vice president for worldwide marketing, said in a release.

Online pre-orders for the new device will begin on Friday, and consumers can receive them as early as April 24. The new phone is available in black, white, and red color schemes.

Apple should be breathing a little easier today. It appears that the company has allayed the fears of the Senate Finance Committee -- the group that sets national health policy -- regarding the committee’s concerns over the tech giant’s COVID-19-related website and app.

In Apple’s original announcement, it underlined that it will collect "some information" to help improve the site, but it stumbled by not identifying exactly what that information would include.

That faux pas caught the Committee’s eye, and when it started poring over Apple’s announcement, more questions came to light. To get those answers, it spared no time in going straight to the top of Apple’s org chart. 

“While we acknowledge Apple’s statements regarding user privacy and that the questionnaire tools ‘do not require a sign-in or association with a user’s Apple ID, and users’ individual responses will not be sent to Apple or any government organization,’ we are nonetheless concerned for the safety and security of Americans’ private health data,” Sens. Menendez, Blumenthal, Harris and Booker wrote to Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook.

Concerns and answers

Triggering the Senators’ concerns were several things, including:

1. Is Apple’s screening site and app governed under the terms of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

2. What personal data is Apple going to retain?

3. Will Apple promise that it will not share or sell any of the data gathered?

4. What cybersecurity safeguards does Apple have to secure the personal data?

5. Will the website be accessible to those with disabilities?

Regarding HIPPA 

As a quick background, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) supervises the stream of healthcare information and guarantees how personally identifiable information is maintained and shared.

In Apple senior government affairs director Timothy Powderly’s response to the Senate, he stated that the company’s tools are not covered by the health privacy law HIPAA -- specifically the governance of HIPAA regarding when a company can disclose data to a third party. Powderly went on to say that there aren’t any third parties involved in collecting the information, since “data (is) entered into the website and app directly by users.”

Retention of personal data

Reminding the Committee that it does not currently collect any information entered into the website and app by individuals, Apple responded that its COVID-19 resources are no exception.

“Guided by this principle, Apple currently collects only the information necessary to support the operation of the COVID-19 website and app, such as users’ usage of the tool and app; this information does not include information entered by individuals,” wrote Powderly.

“Apple only retains this information for so long as is necessary to support the operation of the COVID-19 website and app. Information no longer needed is deleted or rendered permanently unrecoverable in accordance with industry standards.”

Will Apple commit to refraining from sharing or selling the data collected on the website and app to third parties?

There was no pussyfooting from Apple here. 

“Yes, no data collected from either the website or app will ever be sold to third parties,” Powderly said.

How Apple will protect the user data

Apple’s answer was a little technical, but its bottom line response was that the company has developed layers of “technical and administrative safeguards” to protect data as it’s being transported. It has also restricted access to that data to authorized personnel only.

Accessibility of the website to those with disabilities

Again, the answer was another straightforward “yes” from Powderly. 

“Apple’s COVID-19 app and website support features such as Apple’s VoiceOver technology, a screen reader which describes exactly what’s happening on the screen of an Apple device so that individuals can navigate just by listening, as well as Switch Control and Voice Control, which support individuals with physical motor limitations to use devices without touch,” he wrote.

Apple is quickly learning not to mess with France. On Monday, French antitrust officials ordered the tech company to pay a fine of €1.1 billion euros ($1.23 billion) for what France considers anti-competitive practices.

The new fine comes only weeks after France fined Apple €25 million for its iPhone slowdown fiasco.

Creating cartels

The French Competition Authority -- Autorité de la concurrence -- claimed that Apple’s offense was the creation of cartels within its distribution network and the abuse of economic dependence on its “Premium” independent resellers. Those wholesalers are Tech Data and Ingram Micro, which were also fined €76.1 million ($79.68 million) and €62.9 million ($69.99 million), respectively, for their role in the cartel practices.

“During this case, the Authority deciphered the very specific practices that had been implemented by Apple for the distribution of its products in France (excluding iPhones), such as the iPad,” Isabelle de Silva, President of the French Competition Authority, wrote.

“First, Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products. Secondly, so-called Premium distributors could not safely carry out promotions or lower prices, which led to an alignment of retail prices between Apple's integrated distributors and independent Premium distributors.”

The war of words begins

The message the Authority sent certainly had to get Big Tech’s attention. The fine Apple was slapped with is the highest penalty ever imposed on a company doing business in France. 

“Apple had committed an abuse of economic dependence on its premium retailers, a practice which the Authority considers to be particularly serious,” de Silva said.

“The French Competition Authority’s decision is disheartening,” an Apple spokesperson told CNBC. “It relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards 30 years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries. We strongly disagree with them and plan to appeal.”

With an eye towards the safety of children and the curtailment of spamming and offensive content, Apple put developers on notice that it’s going to be taking a hard line on which apps it will let in its app store going forward.

The company says it won’t only be rejecting apps over their content; it will also be looking to crack down on the triggers that developers build into apps that, for example, steal user data or cheat the system in any way.

“When people install an app from the App Store, they want to feel confident that it’s safe to do so -- that the app doesn’t contain upsetting or offensive content, won’t damage their device, and isn’t likely to cause physical harm from its use,” Apple told its developers in its updated App Store Review Guidelines. “If you’re looking to shock and offend people, the App Store isn’t the right place for your app.” 

Some of the more high-profile changes include the ability for apps to now use notifications for ads, stricter rules for dating and fortune-telling apps, and a new rule that allows Apple to reject apps that help users evade law enforcement.

Nope -- not in our App Store

Apple's new app screening raises the bar on the following:

Kid-oriented apps

Upfront and center, Apple tells developers that any app must comply with laws like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), and any other applicable regulations or laws. 

“We have lots of kids downloading lots of apps,” Apple said. “Parental controls work great to protect kids, but you have to do your part too. So know that we’re keeping an eye out for the kids.”

In Apple’s new law of the land, an app can only ask for birthdate and parental contact information as a way of complying with these statutes and nothing else. If a developer builds an app that asks for personal information, they better be ready to prove that the need for those details also complies with those privacy statutes.

Apple is also putting the squeeze on a developer’s dream of cashing in on kids, Going forward, it is banning third-party analytics or third-party advertising from child-oriented apps. 

Objectionable content

In its new guidelines, Apple says that apps on its platform “should not include content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy.”

The company goes on to lay it out in no uncertain terms: “realistic portrayals of people or animals being killed, maimed, tortured, or abused … Depictions that encourage illegal or reckless use of weapons and dangerous objects, or facilitate the purchase of firearms or ammunition … Inflammatory religious commentary” are all forbidden.

User-generated content

Any app that depends on user-generated content or social networking services has to have “a method for filtering objectionable material from being posted to the app; a mechanism to report offensive content and timely responses to concerns; the ability to block abusive users from the service; published contact information so users can easily reach (the developer).”

Spamming

What would an app be without some kind of spam, right? Well, Apple app users are about to find out. 

Going forward, app developers are required to get customer consent and build in an opt-out feature that permits users to turn off those pesky push notification ads. 

If you don’t like it, go somewhere else

“The guiding principle of the App Store is simple - we want to provide a safe experience for users to get apps and a great opportunity for all developers to be successful,” was how Apple laid out the future for app developers. The company didn’t pull any punches about how firm its new stand is, either.

“We do this by offering a highly curated App Store where every app is reviewed by experts and an editorial team helps users discover new apps every day. For everything else there is always the open Internet. If the App Store model and guidelines are not best for your app or business idea that’s okay, we provide Safari for a great web experience too.”

Pay up, mon frere. Three years after it was discovered that Apple was purposely slowing down older versions of its iPhones, possibly in hopes of prodding consumers toward buying a newer model, France’s overseer of consumer affairs has fined the company €25 million ($27,342,875 U.S.) as a result of its own investigation. Apple has agreed to fork over the entire amount.

The General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) announced the fine on Friday. 

While Apple has already asked consumers for their forgiveness and promises it’ll be more informative going forward, its planned obsolescence still leaves it vulnerable to governmental investigations both at home and abroad. In Italy, Apple was fined 5 million euros ($5,468,575 U.S.) for the phone slowdown and another 5 million for neglecting to give customers necessary information about how to ensure the health of an iPhone battery or how to replace it. 

A quick refresher

In case you missed it, the basics of the blunder is that iPhone owners were not informed that the updates of the iOS operating system (10.2.1 and 11.2) they installed would, in all likelihood, slow down their iPhone thanks to a dynamic power management device that came with those updates, especially if the device’s batteries were old. Apple has apparently learned its lesson and gone one step further by extending the life of its devices’ batteries.

Adding insult to misery, iPhone users couldn’t roll their operating software back to an earlier version that didn’t have the new feature.

With consumers having less and less time to take care of interruptions that upset their normal schedules, it looks like Apple is coming to the rescue by offering on-site repair for iPhone owners who can’t find the time to visit a repair shop or Apple store, much less send their phone in to be fixed.

As reported by MacRumors, Apple is trying out its new on-site service in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Consumers in those markets should see that option when they visit Apple's Support site.

Research conducted by ConsumerAffairs and MacRumors suggests that the service is provided by Go Tech Services. The company is an Apple-authorized service provider and is not directly governed by the tech giant -- much like the relationship between Geek Squad and Best Buy. Findings suggest that Go Tech is a new service offered by SquareTrade, an Allstate company.

Can everything on my iPhone be repaired on a house call?

There’s no official word from Apple or Go Tech on what can be repaired at a customer’s home or office. MacRumors reports that a cracked iPhone display could be fixed but not a battery replacement.

And price? There’s no official word on that either, but MacRumors reports that “an on-site visit fee may be charged in addition to the provider's standard repair cost.”

Apple has promised to fix a vulnerability in one of the new parental control features released Tuesday in iOS 13.3. 

A feature called Communication Limits is supposed to prevent kids from communicating with people not in their contacts unless a parent enters a security passcode, but the safety feature can easily be bypassed if contacts aren’t stored in iCloud, according to a CNBC report. 

“Communication Limits does not work as advertised if contacts are not stored to iCloud by default,” CNBC found. 

After tapping on an incoming text from an unknown number, CNBC discovered that a "Restricted Contact" page appeared. However, the page could be bypassed by tapping on an “Add Contact” option. Selecting the option would give kids the ability to communicate with the person behind the number in question. 

In a statement, Apple said the issue “only occurs on devices set up with a non-standard configuration, and a workaround is available.” It added that it’s “working on a complete fix and will release it in an upcoming software update.” 

While Apple works on a fix, users can ensure the feature works properly by forcing contacts to sync with iCloud. This can be done by going into settings, navigating down to "Contacts," choosing "Default Account,” and changing it to iCloud. Alternatively, parents can set the device to “Downtime” mode to prevent kids from adding any new contacts. 

Apple has responded to questions raised as part of an antitrust probe launched in September. Lawmakers previously sent a letter to Apple officials asking, among other things, for the company to shed light on how much revenue it has generated from product repair services since 2009.

Kyle Andeer, the company's vice president for Corporate Law, produced Apple’s responses to the Antitrust Committee. Andeer said the annual costs of providing repair services has “exceeded the revenue generated by repairs.” 

The tech giant has previously been accused of making it difficult for users to get Apple devices fixed by making them go to its own stores or authorized repair centers and then charging high rates to fix faulty devices. 

Repair service questions

Asked if the move was a way for Apple to “elbow out competition and extend its monopoly into the market for repairs,” the company said no. Andeer said Apple’s goal is to “achieve a safe and reliable repair for our customers, whether that repair is done by Apple or a service provider designated by Apple.” 

To that end, the company doesn’t allow independent repair stores to access its spare parts and repair manuals. He said it’s “not feasible to split products into its component parts without significant risk of damage to those components.”

“Apple has spent time and money to make Apple devices incredibly user friendly—but they are still complex, very technical machines,” Andeer said. “And there are a number of factors that go into achieving the goal of ensuring repairs on these complex devices are safe and reliable.” 

Andeer noted that Apple has set out to make user repairs easier to obtain in recent months by partnering with Best Buy to offer user repair services at many of the retailer’s stores. The company has also established a new system to verify independent third-parties. 

Default browser questions

In response to a question regarding why Apple doesn’t allow iPhone users to assign a third-party browser as their default choice and whether that move is anti-competitive, Andeer pointed to security and privacy reasons. He said Safari is “an essential part of iPhone’s functionality.” 

“Safari is one of the apps that Apple believes defines the core user experience on iOS, with industry-leading security and privacy features,” Andeer said. “Safari is an ‘operating system app,’ like the Phone, Camera and iMessage, which are designed to work together.” 

In the company response, Andeer noted that there are many apps that compete with Apple’s services, such as web browsing, maps, music, and video. Overall, Apple argued that all of its policies are in the best interest of users and that it doesn’t engage in anti-competitive behaviors. 

Two tech entrepreneurs say that the new Apple Card appears to have a gender bias when it comes to assigning credit limits.

David Heinemeier Hansson and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak both say they received several times the credit limit than their wives when they applied for the new credit card. 

Hansson, who developed the web-application framework Ruby on Rails, said he and his wife file a joint tax return and that she has a better credit score than he does. Yet when they were approved for the card, he said his credit limit was 20 times higher than his wife’s.

Both men reported the discrepancy on Twitter, blaming the algorithm used by Apple and Goldman Sachs to screen applicants.

New York will investigate

In the wake of these complaints, the New York Department of Financial Services has launched an investigation. Goldman Sachs has declined to say whether it has had any discussions with either of the two tech titans who publicly expressed their concerns.

Apple and Goldman Sachs rolled out the new credit card in August, making it available to all iPhone customers. The card is designed to be used in tandem with the Wallet app on the iPhone. At the time of its launch, Apple said it wanted the card to be a tool to help consumers better manage their money.

The Apple Card is like many regular credit cards. It doesn’t have an annual fee, and it offers 3 percent cash back on Apple purchases and 1 percent on all other purchases. It got a rather lukewarm reception from personal finance experts who noted that most cards don’t currently charge an annual fee, and some offer rewards as generous or more than what the Apple Card pays.

The focus of the controversy is the algorithm used to approve applicants and assign them a credit limit. Reuters quotes a spokeswoman for the New York Department of Financial Services as saying the agency will investigate to determine whether the discrepancy violates state law.

She said the law is designed to make sure all consumers are treated the same and that even unintentional discrimination on the part of a computer algorithm could be a violation.

During an earnings call with analysts this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook signaled that the company is open to the idea of launching a subscription-style model for paying for iPhones, CNBC reported.

“We are cognizant that there are lots of users out there that want sort of a recurring payment like that and the receipt of new products on some sort of standard kind of basis and we are committed to make that easier to do than perhaps it is today,” Cook said. 

During the call, Cook said Apple sees subscriptions as a major growth area and pointed out that it’s already catering to customers who want to bundle services.

“In terms of hardware as a service or as a bundle, if you will, there are customers today that essentially view the hardware like that because they’re on upgrade plans and so forth. So, to some degree, that exists today,” Cook said in response to a question on the matter from analyst Toni Sacconagi. 

Laying the foundation

CNBC noted that Apple has been “laying the groundwork” for a subscription model for its iPhones for years.

In 2015, the company began allowing its users to pay off their iPhones on a monthly basis. The tech giant also offers an iPhone Upgrade Program, which includes an AppleCare warranty and an option to upgrade to the latest iPhone once the user has paid a minimum of 12 monthly installments for the older model of the device. 

Additionally, Apple currently offers trade-ins, which enable consumers to sell their older iPhone back to Apple in order to receive a discount on a newer model.

“We also continued to see great results from our trade-in program with more than five times the iPhone trade-in volume we had a year ago,” Apple CFO Luca Maestri said. 

Paying with Apple Card

Cook announced on the call that Apple is also set to launch a program that lets consumers buy an iPhone with their Apple Card and pay no interest on the sum for two years.

“I am very pleased to announce today that later this year, we are adding another great feature to Apple Card,” Cook said on the call. “Customers will be able to purchase their new iPhone and pay for it over it over 24 months with zero interest. And they will continue to enjoy all the benefits of Apple Card, including 3% cash back on the total cost of their iPhone with absolutely no fees and the ability to simply manage their payments right in the Apple Wallet app on iPhone.”

The Apple executive added that “one of the things we are doing is trying to make it simpler and simpler for people to get on these sort of monthly financing kind of things.” 

Apple is urging all iPhone 5 owners to update their device to the latest software within the next few days or risk losing core online features, including web browsing, email, and more. 

In full-screen alerts on the devices of affected owners, as well as in a support document on its website, the tech giant advised iPhone 5 owners to update to iOS 10.3.4 before 12AM UTC on November 3 in order to “maintain accurate GPS location and to continue to use functions that rely on correct date and time including App Store, iCloud, email, and web browsing.” 

Apple added that the update requirement stems from a GPS time rollover issue that began affecting GPS-enabled products from other manufacturers on April 6 of this year. 

Users who don’t update their device by the specified date will no longer be able to get over-the-air software updates or use iCloud backup, so they will need to connect to a computer to restore. 

To verify that a device is up to date, users can tap on Settings and then on Software Update. 

Problems reported among new iPhone owners

Apple's warning to iPhone 5 owners comes on the heels of user complaints from those who downloaded the company's iOS 13.1.2 update for their newer iPhone, iPad, and iPod. 

While the software update was supposed to fix a number of issues, users complained of issues ranging from battery drain, call dropping, and web pages shutting down for no apparent reason. 

“This 13.1.2 version is a disaster,” posted one Facebook user. “[It] has ruined the ease of correcting text character by character. Have had to reboot twice to attempt to correct.” Singing to the choir of disgruntled users, another wrote “Apple iOS 13.1.2 downloaded, and I regret it. Very little seems to work right.” 

Users who hadn't yet installed the update were urged to hold off on downloading it, while those who had already downloaded it were left simply to wait for Apple to roll out a fix for the issues.

Many consumers might want an iPhone, but the price tag can be prohibitive for some people. To fill this market niche, the tech giant will reportedly introduce a budget iPhone next year that would retail for $399.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF Securities who covers Apple, reported over the weekend that the new iPhone, despite its low price, will have the same processor as the recently released iPhone 11, which sells for between $699 and $1,099.

Kuo says the new phone will be called the iPhone SE2, and it will have a similar design to the iPhone 8. That means it can use some of that model’s parts but will feature an upgraded processor and camera. 

Apple has yet to comment on the report. MacRumors describes Kuo as a credible source when it comes to Apple.

“His research notes often provide a solid look at Apple's future plans and while he is not always correct, his predictions on future Apple products are accurate enough to make him one of the most reliable sources for Apple rumors,” the website says.

Aimed at the iPhone 6?

While Apple sells some previous iPhone models at low prices, those devices feature older technology. For example, the iPhone 6 models do not run the latest iPhone operating system, IOS 13.

A $400 phone featuring an improved camera and the latest processor could well be a game-changer when it comes to competing with lower-priced phones.

In a note to clients, Kuo predicted the new iPhone could prove attractive to consumers still using iPhone 6 models who have been reluctant to upgrade because of cost. Kuo says as many as 200 million consumers could still be using those older devices.

Kuo says the fact that the iPhone 6 models can’t run the latest operating system may create a “more urgent replacement demand.”

Apple introduced the iPhone 11 series last month, with three new models featuring improved cameras and a new processor. At the same time, it cut the price of the iPhone 8 to $449 and the iPhone 8 Plus to $549.

Apple’s most recent iPhone update, iOS 13, includes a tool to help consumers minimize the number of unwanted calls they receive. The tech giant’s new “Silence Unknown Callers” option lets iPhone users send any call straight to voicemail if it isn’t from a number found in their contact list.

Users who have updated to iOS 13 can activate the feature by opening Settings, tapping “Phone,” navigating down to “Silence Unknown Callers,” and toggling the button to “On.” 

Enabling the feature will stop unknown calls from coming through, meaning users won’t have to manually hit “decline” when they see a likely robocall coming in. Missed call notifications will still pop up after Apple sends the call to voicemail, and the number that called will still show up in the recent call log.

Apple warns that some calls -- such as those from a medical office or any other establishment that isn’t in a phone’s contact list -- may also be thwarted by the feature. In that case, users can head to the “Voicemail” tab in the Phone app and listen to or read the transcript of the voicemail and decide whether the person should be called back. 

Robocall numbers still elevated

During the month of September, consumers received 4.5 billion robocalls. While that number is down 5.2 percent from August and 13.5 percent from the all-time high in March of 5.2 billion robocalls, YouMail CEO Alex Quilici says robocall numbers for 2019 are still frustratingly high. 

"Happily, September had a meaningful but unsurprising decline in robocall volume, as it was a shorter month than August and included the Labor Day holiday weekend," the executive said in a statement last week. "While that's still good news, the tougher news is that we received over 43.3 billion calls in the first 9 months of the year, and we are still on pace to wind up with nearly 60 billion calls to U.S. consumers this year."

Federal regulators are aware that consumers are fed up with robocalls and continue to push for the integration of tools to fight spam callers. The FCC has urged phone companies to adopt new standards to combat robocalls, and AT&T, Verizon, and other carriers have announced new spam call-filtering tools in an effort to appease both regulators and frustrated consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in July that it upgraded its Do Not Call (DNC) initiative to make its interactive robocall data site easier for consumers to use.

“The page allows consumers to search the data interactively, for example, by clicking on a specific state or county. The information will be updated quarterly,” the FTC wrote.

Two weeks after unveiling three new iPhone models, Apple is advising iPhone 11 users not to go to third-party technicians for display repairs. 

The company said iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max users need to ensure their device gets fixed using genuine parts. Failure to go to a service provider or technician that hasn’t been vetted by Apple could result in incorrect color calibration, multi-touch issues, ambient light sensor problems, or other issues. 

“Additionally, repairs that don't properly replace screws or cowlings might leave behind loose parts that could damage the battery, cause overheating, or result in injury,” Apple said in a statement on its website.

Apple said iPhone 11 users who replace their screens with an aftermarket component will see a message that reads, "Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple display." The message will remain on the lock screen for four days. After that, it can be found under the “About” section in “Settings.” The warning will not affect the ability to use the iPhone or its display.

“If you need to replace your iPhone display, it's important for certified technicians who use genuine Apple display parts to repair it,” the company said. “Only technicians who have completed Apple service training and who use Apple genuine parts and tools should replace iPhone displays.” 

Apple has announced its 2019 product upgrade with three new iPhone models, an always-on watch display, and a popularly priced streaming service.

The new devices are the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Upgrades include a brighter display and a new triple-camera system with a “pro-level camera experience” and an expanded lens range. Apple says the changes will deliver huge improvements to low-light photography and allow production of high-quality action videos.

In addition to those changes, the company says the new iPhones will be more powerful than the previous generations and have improved battery life.

The iPhone 11 will sell for $699, $50 less than the model it is replacing. The 11 Pro will go for $999 and the 11 Pro Max will cost $1,099. All three models are scheduled to ship on September 20.

Price cut on the iPhone 8

At the same time, Apple has lowered the price of some of its older devices. Both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are getting a $100 price cut, selling between $449 and $549. It’s also discontinuing the Xs and XS Max models.

Improvements to the Apple Watch are also getting some attention. The Apple Watch Series 5 introduces an Always-On Retina display that never goes into sleep mode. Other upgrades include a built-in compass to current elevation feature and international emergency calling that connects users with emergency services in more than 150 countries.

“We’ve seen Apple Watch have a meaningful impact on our customers’ lives and we’re excited to deliver even more capabilities with Apple Watch Series 5 and watchOS 6,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “The seamless integration of new hardware and software delivers an enhanced experience that makes it even easier to stay active and connected to the people and information users care about.”

Apple TV +

Apple also served notice that it’s stepping up its game in the streaming wars, positioning Apple TV + to take on the likes of Netflix and Hulu. The service will launch November 1, offering original programming for $4.99 a month. As an added bonus, consumers who purchase an Apple device will get a one-year subscription to the service at no charge.

Offerings include “The Morning Show,” “Dickinson,” “See,” “For All Mankind” and “The Elephant Queen.” The service will be available on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod Touch, Mac, and other platforms, including online at tv.apple.com.

It’s not a proven axiom in Big Tech, but Apple, for one, is hoping that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

That ounce is a tweak Apple’s made to its App Store’s algorithm so, by design, fewer of its own, self-produced apps would crowd the top search results.

And the pound? There’s no guarantee Apple’s move will carry that much weight, but the company is about to enter a slate of antitrust investigations, so any move to separate “anti” from “trust” couldn’t hurt.

Getting to the top of the charts

The App Store changes were brought to light by the New York Times when its reporters presented new research about App Store search result rankings to Apple.

That research -- which was fueled by search term tracking done by SensorTower -- showed that Apple’s own apps ranked first in 735 of roughly 60,000 search terms tracked. “Most of the tracked searches were obscure, but Apple’s apps ranked first for many of the popular queries,” the Times wrote. 

“For instance, for most of June and July, Apple apps were the top result for these search terms: books, music, news, magazines, podcasts, video, TV, movies, sports, card, gift, money, credit, debit, fitness, people, friends, time, notes, docs, files, cloud, storage, message, home, store, mail, maps, traffic, stocks and weather.”

When the Times handed over its research, Apple owned up to the changes. Well -- sort of owned up.

Apple executives Eddy Cue and Philip Schiller -- both at the top of the App Store food chain -- refuted any possible allegation that Apple’s algorithm gave precedence to its own apps. Rather, their position was that Apple-owned apps typically rank higher than others simply because their apps are a) more popular; and, b) typically a closer match to broad search terms. For example, if someone searched for a “photo” app, Apple’s “iPhoto” app might rise to the top organically.

“There’s nothing about the way we run search in the App Store that’s designed or intended to drive Apple’s downloads of our own apps,” Schiller told the Times. “We’ll present results based on what we think the user wants.”

Why the tweak?

As the Times turned up the heat, Schiller held steadfast to his position, but Cue admitted the situation was “improved.”

Was Cue’s admission related to the accusation that Apple built in some sway for itself in the App Store? We may never know, but what we do know is that Apple’s antitrust defense team has a lot on their plate with consumer-oriented cases regarding the App Store monopoly, iPhone prices, and antitrust claims from its peers. Any angle they can work to soften the blow could work in the company’s favor.

Reports surfaced on Tuesday that Apple has paused the rollout of technology that would allow people to send text messages to other iPhones (not other platforms like Android, though) when those users are off-the-grid -- meaning without cell service. 

For people who find themselves in remote locations like ski slopes or hiking in the mountains, the upsides of the technology could have been a game-changer in locating someone who’s lost or needs help.

According to The Information, Apple and Intel were collaborating on the technology, with plans to integrate Intel’s chips into future iPhones. The original patent Apple applied for details technology that functions something like a walkie-talkie in which the messaging between the phones would be transmitted via a 900MHz radio spectrum. 

There was no reason -- like a security flaw -- given as to why the project was scrapped. However, The Information said that the person at Apple who was championing the technology had left the company. It’s also possible that Apple’s recent squabble with Qualcomm could have been a factor.

Apple Watch wearers who like the watch’s version of the walkie-talkie feature will be happy to know that that version isn’t going away. However, it does require a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, which the scrapped version didn’t.

Two of the three iPhones Apple is expected to debut next month will be “Pro” phones, featuring an emphasis on the device’s camera performance, according to a Bloomberg report. 

The phones will boast a new triple-lens camera system, which combines wide angle, telephoto, and ultra-wide lenses. The publication says the upcoming “Pro” models will take the place of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. 

The iPhone 11 Pro software will enable it to take three images at once and merge them into higher-resolution pictures “rivaling some traditional cameras.” The device’s low-light camera performance will also be enhanced.  

Upgraded functions

In addition to the new “Pro” models, the tech giant will reportedly unveil a successor to last year’s iPhone XR. A second rear camera will be added to the device, which will equip it with the ability to shoot in enhanced portrait mode and zoom in further without the quality of the shot being impacted. A change to Face ID, “multi angle” sensor hardware, is also expected to be announced in a few weeks. 

“The phones will include a new multi-angle Face ID sensor that captures a wider field of view so that users can unlock the handsets more easily – even when the devices are flat on a table,” Bloomberg reported. 

Aesthetically, Bloomberg says “at least some colors” of the devices will feature a new matte finish. The devices will also be more durable, thanks to enhanced shatter protection and water resistance. The publication also claims Apple is likely to release new AirPods and a smaller, less expensive HomePod smart speaker as early as next year. 

Apple’s annual iPhone announcement event, which has been held in September for the past four years, is expected to take place on Tuesday, September 10 this year.

Apple has temporarily pulled the plug on a program that let its employees listen to Siri voice recordings. The practice was called “grading,” and it was intended to help boost Siri’s speech recognition accuracy and quality. 

Apple said it listened to less than one percent of Siri voice conversations and that the recordings were anonymous. Nonetheless, the tech giant has decided to suspend the program in the wake of a recent Guardian report which found that Apple contractors “regularly hear confidential details” on Siri recordings. 

Apple told the publication that its goal in letting staffers listen to some conversations was to “help Siri and dictation … understand you better and recognize what you say.” The article sparked a wave of criticism, which has now resulted in Apple suspending the program while it decides how to proceed. 

“We are committed to delivering a great Siri experience while protecting user privacy. While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading globally,” an Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch. 

In an upcoming software update, Apple will give users the ability to opt out of participating in the company’s grading program. 

In a note to investors over the weekend, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple will offer 5G support on all three models of its 2020 iPhones. The move is intended to help the tech giant compete with Android, which is adding 5G support to its lower-cost Android smartphones.

Earlier this summer, Kuo said he believed two of the three upcoming iPhones would support 5G. The analyst now says Apple will add 5G support to all the new devices. 

Kuo said Apple's recent acquisition of Intel's smartphone modem chip business bolstered its resources for developing iPhones with 5G capabilities. However, the company doesn’t plan to drop Qualcomm technology in favor of using its own in-house 5G chip until 2021, according to Reuters.

“Apple has more resource for developing the 5G iPhone after the acquisition of Intel baseband business, ” Kuo said in a note seen by MacRumors. “We expect that the prices of 5G Android smartphones will decline to $249–349 USD in 2H20.” 

“Consumers will think that 5G is the necessary function” by the time they are launched, he added. “Therefore, iPhone models which will be sold at higher prices have to support 5G for winning more subsidies from mobile operators and consumers' purchase intention.” 

All three versions of the 2020 iPhone will likely support both the mmWave and sub-6GHz versions of 5G. Meanwhile, Android phones will only support sub-6GHz. 

Apple’s notoriously problematic butterfly keyboard will be phased out this year, MacRumors reports. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the tech giant will introduce a scissor-switch keyboard design starting with its 16-inch MacBook Pro. 

The company unveiled its butterfly keyboard in 2015, advertising it as being “refined for greater comfort and responsiveness” compared to its standard “scissor” design. However, users began noticing that the keyboards tended to malfunction after being exposed to dirt or dust.

Apple acknowledged the issue and tried to fix the problem by introducing several changes, including adding a silicone barrier to keep dust from getting behind keys and using “new materials” in the keyboards’ switch mechanism to improve reliability. 

The tech giant launched a repair program for users who were still experiencing problems, but now it appears that the company is looking to scrap the troublesome keyboard design altogether. 

The new scissor keyboard won’t be as prone to failure from heat, dust, and other small particulates, Kuo said in a previous note to investors seen by MacRumors. Enhanced durability will come by way of glass fibers to reinforce the keys. While it will be thicker than the butterfly keyboard, Kuo believes most users won’t be able to feel the difference.

It is expected to be found on the new MacBook Pro, which will most likely launch in September. Other laptops will get the updated keyboard in 2020. 

Apple has allowed OurPact, one of the parental control apps pulled from its App Store earlier this year, back on its app marketplace. 

The New York Times reported in February that Apple pulled or limited the reach of 11 of the 17 most popular screen time monitoring and parental control apps from its App Store without warning developers. 

The apps that were kicked off relied on Mobile Device Management (MDM) technology to track and manage users’ screen time. They were also similar to Apple’s “ScreenTime” tool, which gives parents control over an iPhone’s usage. 

OurPact allowed back 

Affected developers accused the company of engaging in anticompetitive practices by clearing out rival screen time management apps, but Apple defended its move by saying privacy concerns were at the heart of the matter.  

“Contrary to what The New York Times reported over the weekend, this isn’t a matter of competition. It’s a matter of security,” Apple said in a statement.

“These apps were using an enterprise technology that provided them access to kids’ highly sensitive personal data,” an Apple spokeswoman told the Times. “We do not think it is O.K. for any apps to help data companies track or optimize advertising of kids.”

In response to Apple’s decision, OurPact published a statement in which it noted that MDM only allows it to collect “very limited but standard anonymized” data for crash reports. 

"They yanked us out of the blue with no warning," OurPact CEO Amir Moussavian told the Times in February. "They are systematically killing the industry."

Several months later, OurPact has been reinstated to Apple’s App Store and given approval to use MDM. The former is thanks to Apple’s recent introduction of less stringent App Store restrictions related to the use of MDM and Virtual Private Network tools. 

"We take this as a positive sign that Apple is working in cooperation with us,” an OurPact spokesperson said. “They realize device management solutions belong not only in the business world and in the classroom but in a family environment."

It remains to be seen whether other parental control apps that were pulled will be allowed to return to the App Store in the wake of Apple’s revision to its review guidelines. 

Apple is offering free repairs for 2018 MacBook Airs after finding that a “very small number” of current generation, 13-inch MacBook Airs are having logic board problems, 9to5Mac reports. Logic board issues could prevent the computer from turning on.

The company has emailed owners of MacBook Air computers with serial numbers known to be impacted by the issue to let them know that a free repair is available at any Apple Store or authorized service center. Customers who want to know if their device is among those impacted by the flaw can also take their computer to those locations. 

The free repair offer will last for four years. 

9to5Mac notes that Apple hasn’t provided many details about the logic board issue, other than saying that it has to do with “power.” The publication notes that some users found that they weren’t able to boot up their 2018 MacBook Air at all when the device first launched.

The logic board issue is the latest of several MacBook flaws to be announced in recent months. Just a few days ago, Apple recalled some older MacBook Pro models over a battery issue that caused overheating. Prior to that, the company introduced a repair program for owners of MacBooks with defective butterfly keyboards.  

Among the laundry list of nuances and updates Apple unveiled at its WWDC 2019 earlier this month, one was Sign In with Apple, a privacy-oriented feature allowing users to use their Apple ID to log into third-party apps and websites.

The idea of a “single sign-on” isn’t anything new. As a matter of fact, more than a million sites integrate the OpenID protocol, counting Google, Amazon.com, Microsoft, and PayPal among its customer base -- but not Apple.

The benefits for single sign-ons are many -- like reducing password fatigue to saving time not having to re-enter passwords for the same ID -- but, according to one industry organization, it could pose potential security issues when used with other single sign-on mechanisms. 

Here’s the rub

Apple probably didn’t expect any problems when it decided to veer away from the Open ID blueprint and create its own version, but one has reared its ugly head.

The OpenID Foundation (OIDF), a non-profit organization whose primary goal is standardizing the technology and keeping all its implementers on the same page, says that Apple’s version of the technology could possibly put its users’ security and privacy at risk.

In a letter to Apple, OIDF praised Apple's authentication feature for having "largely adopted" OpenID Connect. But after that pat on the back, the tone of the letter changed. 

“The current set of differences between OpenID Connect and Sign In with Apple reduces the places where users can use Sign In with Apple and exposes them to greater security and privacy risks,” cautioned ODIF’s Nat Sakimura.

OIDF didn’t leave Apple twisting in the wind, however. Its team put together a checklist of recommended code modifications Apple could employ to close any gaps between Sign In with Apple and OpenID Connect. 

Should you use Sign In with Apple?

For the moment, the next step is open-ended and sitting on Apple’s desk. As you might expect, Apple has rigorously defended Sign In with Apple, and there’s no guarantee that the company will respond to OIDF’s clarion call.

Nonetheless, if a consumer decides to use Sign In with Apple, they’re promised, for one thing, that Apple won't use the tool to track internet activity, a plus that the company says it has over Google and Facebook’s single log-in widgets.

Another consumer plum is that if a user decides not to share their personal information, any site or app that requests the consumer’s email will instead be given a unique, Apple-generated email address that those messages will be forwarded to, in essence masking their true identity.

"The concept of being able to sign in without using a real email address is a step in the right direction for consumers,” was the take of Ray Walsh, data privacy expert at ProPrivacy.com, and part of an expert panel Engadget asked for its consumer take on the situation. 

“Being able to sign in without sharing a real email address removes one crucial bit of data from those services' hands. However, web services still get to collect other crucial data from users when they visit their sites -- which can still be used to track them. When you visit a website, that service automatically receives your IP address; this is an extremely valuable tracking tool. Thus, Sign in with Apple is only removing one small piece of trackable data from the equation."

Dana Simberkoff -- chief risk, privacy, and information security officer at AvePoint -- explained that the feature could be good for both Apple and consumers.: "If it's done right, not only [is it] a win for Apple but also a win for consumers that may be able to take advantage of a more privacy-centric sign-in option,” she said.

Florian Schaub, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, agrees that the consumer comes out a winner with Apple’s single sign-on process. "The ability to easily generate random email addresses and Apple handling the management of those credentials will make it much easier for consumers to protect their personal information when interacting with mobile apps and online services,” he said.

“It's interesting to see Apple take on the well-established single sign-on offerings by Google, Facebook and others but with a focus on making it easier for people to protect their privacy. It will of course require you to trust Apple to stay true to its promise and not track or analyze with which services you have accounts and how often you log in to those."

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Apple said the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on Chinese goods could result in “a reduction of Apple’s U.S. economic contribution.” The company said the new round of tariffs could also have an impact on its global competitiveness.

“The Chinese producers we compete with in global markets do not have a significant presence in the U.S. market, and so would not be impacted by U.S. tariffs. Neither would our other major non-U.S. competitors. A U.S. tariff would, therefore, tilt the playing field in favor of our global competitors,” the letter said.

The letter was filed during the seven-day public comment period for proposed tariffs on about $300 billion in Chinese goods. Apple, which is expected to launch its new iPhones in September, says the tariffs in question would impact almost all of its devices, including the iPhone, MacBook, AirPods, and Apple Watch.

"We urge the US government not to impose tariffs on these products," the company said.

If the tariffs go into effect, Apple is considering moving between 15 and 30 percent of its hardware production out of China to avoid them, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.

China’s top technology company Huawei has also been feeling the effects of the Trump administration’s trade talks. Earlier this week, the company warned investors that its smartphone shipments could fall by 40 million to 60 million as a result of America’s trade dispute with China.

Apple announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Best Buy to expand its repair coverage beyond its own stores.Consumers can now have their Apple devices repaired at almost 1,000 Best Buy locations.

The tech giant says 7,600 “newly Apple-certified technicians” (trained Geek Squad employees) now offer same-day repairs at many Best Buy locations.

“At Apple, we’re dedicated to providing the best customer service in the world,” Apple Care VP Tara Bunch said in a press release. “If a customer ever needs to repair their products, we want them to feel confident those repairs are done safely and correctly.”

Tripling repair center locations

Combined with Apple’s existing authorized third-party service locations, the latest partnership brings the number of U.S. locations that offer repairs on iPhones and other devices to 1,800. Apple said that figure is three times higher than it was just three years ago.

“We’re always looking at how we can reliably expand our network of trained technicians and we’re excited to partner with every Best Buy store so it’s even easier for our customers to find an authorized repair location near them,” Bunch said.

Apple says its partnership with Best Buy will put Apple-certified technicians in closer range of consumers in locations such as Yuma, Arizona; Sioux City, Iowa; Twin Falls, Idaho; Casper, Wyoming; and Bismarck, North Dakota, where its retail stores aren’t as conveniently located.

Eight out of ten Apple customers will now be within 20 minutes of an authorized service provider, Apple said.

Apple’s iOS 13 update, set to launch for iPhones this fall, includes a feature that will extend battery life by preventing the device from overcharging.

On its website, Apple explains that the new feature -- dubbed “optimized battery charging” -- works by getting to know a user’s daily charging habits.

“iPhone uses on-device machine learning to understand your daily charging routine so it can wait to finish charging past 80% until you need to use it,” the company said. For the remaining 20 percent, the phone switches to a slower “trickle charge” which “eases the electrical current to extend battery lifespan.”

Consumers will have the option of enabling or disabling Apple’s upcoming battery-extending feature.

Improving battery performance

Throughout 2018, Apple faced criticism over the way it handled the update that slowed down older iPhones to preserve battery life. Lawsuits filed by iPhone customers claimed Apple deliberately slowed down aging phones in order to drive sales of new iPhones.

Apple has maintained that the performance management feature introduced with iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2 was meant to “improve customers’ user experience” by extending the life of their phone battery.

In the wake of the battery throttling debacle, the company added an option that lets users check on the health of their phone’s lithium-ion battery. Apple also dropped the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements and vowed to be “clearer and more upfront” with users about whether a software update could affect the performance of their iPhone.

Apple has been hit with a lawsuit from two app developers who accuse the company of using its App Store monopoly to charge “profit-killing” commissions. The complaint filed on Tuesday claims Apple’s practice of imposing a 30 percent commission on all app sales is anticompetitive and “sets the stage for Apple to abuse its market power.”

Additionally, the suit contends that Apple’s rules of pricing apps at a minimum of $0.99 and charging developers an annual “developer fee” of $99 are "especially damaging to smaller and new developers."

"Between Apple's 30 percent cut of all App Store sales, the annual fee of $99 and pricing mandates, Apple blatantly abuses its market power to the detriment of developers, who are forced to use the only platform available to them to sell their iOS app," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the law firm that filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose.

"In a competitive landscape, this simply would not happen,” Berman continued. "Today's lawsuit seeks to force Apple to end its abusive monopoly and allow competition in the distribution of iOS apps and related products, to get rid of its pricing mandates, and to reimburse developers for overcharges made through abuse of its monopoly power."

Antitrust complaints

The latest suit comes less than a month after the Supreme Court ruled that a group of iPhone owners can proceed with their class action case against Apple, which also claims the company violated antitrust rules by taking a 30 percent cut of sales in its app marketplace.

The suit says consumers have been harmed by Apple’s practice of taking a cut of sales because the company doesn’t allow users to download apps from any platform other than its official App Store.

Apple made an effort to have the case dismissed by noting that developers set the price of their own apps and that it’s merely an intermediary. Since customers technically buy their apps from developers, Apple said only consumers should be able to sue developers.

However, the court didn’t side with Apple.

“We disagree. The plaintiffs purchased apps directly from Apple and therefore are direct purchasers,” wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who sided with the court’s four liberal justices in the decision. “Apple’s line-drawing does not make a lot of sense, other than as a way to gerrymander Apple out of this and similar lawsuits.”  

The latest developer suit also takes issue with Apple’s practices and seeks to mitigate its App Store monopoly.

"We think app developers should be rewarded fairly for their creations, not over-taxed by a corporate giant," Berman said. "After 11 years of monopoly conduct and profits, we think it's high time that a court examine Apple's practices on behalf of iOS app developers and take action as warranted by the law and facts."

Apple announced Monday that it’s breaking up iTunes and replacing it with three standalone apps called Music, TV, and Podcasts.

The decision to dismantle the music-media platform, which launched with the first batch of iPods in 2003, was revealed at Apple’s annual developer's conference in California. Apple’s VP of Engineering, Craig Federighi, hinted that consumers have expressed interest in a version of iTunes that is capable of doing more.

“Customers love iTunes and everything it can do. But if there’s one thing we hear over and over, it’s can iTunes do even more?,” he said.

Splitting up the iTunes workload

Each of the apps that are set to take the place of iTunes will manage a portion of the workload formerly shouldered entirely by iTunes, with a few additions.

The Music app will primarily offer music and personalized recommendations; the Podcasts app will enable users to search with the help of machine learning; and the TV app will feature a combination of content from networks such as HBO and Showtime and original content from Apple.

Users will still be able to buy and download songs through Apple’s Music app, and movies and TV shows can be purchased in the TV app. Previous purchases and media libraries will be maintained in each new app on Mac computers, a spokesperson told CNN Business.

The change, slated to be implemented later this year, means users soon won’t see iTunes automatically pop up when they sync their iPhone, iPod, or iPad. The device will instead sync via the sidebar in Finder on Macs.

Three Apple iTunes users have filed a lawsuit against the company for purportedly disclosing -- and selling -- their listening habits, purchases, and personal data to advertisers without getting their consent.

The rub is simple: in the plaintiff’s mind, Apple didn’t practice what it preached in an Apple billboard reading “What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone.”

Apple’s ad seems innocent enough given that it ran only in Las Vegas and was riffing on Vegas’ tourism line, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” However, Apple made a blunder when it also pointed to Apple.com/privacy in the ad. On that site, the company clearly says that every Apple product “is designed from the ground up to protect [user] information. And to empower you to choose what you share and with whom.”  

That mantra is widely used. Only a few weeks ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook kept that consumer promise alive when he said Apple doesn’t want consumers’ data.

The disgruntled iTunes users are from Rhode Island and Michigan, states that have laws in place that protect records of entertainment purchases. In their lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco, the plaintiffs claim that iTunes’ disclosure of consumers’ personal data is not only illegal, but also alarming because it allows the company to target “vulnerable members of society.”

“For example, any person or entity could rent a list with the names and addresses of all unmarried, college-educated women over the age of 70 with a household income of over $80,000 who purchased country music from Apple via its iTunes Store mobile application,” the lawsuit points out. “Such a list is available for sale for approximately $136 per thousand customers listed.”

Spy Tunes

Whether Apple can prove its intentions weren’t as marauding as Facebook’s has been, there is evidence that the company has made similar missteps before.

“A person’s taste in media can be highly personal, yet all of Apple’s more than 10 billion song and 200 million TV and movie downloads are potentially traceable by the George Smileys of the world the world’s spies, stalkers, yellow journalists, and opposition researchers,” wrote Andrew McAfee, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) back in 2011. (Author’s note: Smiley is a spy in John le Carré novels.)

“Of course, this is nowhere near as big a deal as privacy holes in online health or financial information would be, so we should keep this issue in perspective. But it is an issue, I think.”

Whether Apple is speaking out of both sides of its mouth is something for judge and jury to decide, but it’s possible the company might use existing language in the company’s advertising and privacy policy as a shield.

“To ensure ads are relevant, Apple’s advertising platform creates groups of people, called segments, who share similar characteristics and uses these groups for delivering targeted ads. Information about you is used to determine which segments you are assigned to, and thus, which ads you receive. To protect your privacy, your information is used to place you into segments of at least 5,000 people,” Apple states in that policy.

Calling out the tech industry

It’s interesting to note that while Apple may be the one in the lawsuit’s crosshairs, the plaintiffs pull other companies into the mix, spreading the blame across the larger tech landscape.  

“Apple is not alone in jeopardizing its subscribers’ privacy and well-being in exchange for increased revenue: disclosing subscriber information to data aggregators, data appenders, data cooperatives, direct marketers, and other third parties is a widespread practice in the publishing industry.”

Apple on Tuesday introduced an updated version of its iPod touch. The latest iteration of the device contains an A10 Fusion chip which makes the device “twice as fast as before” and gives it the ability to handle Group FaceTime calls and augmented reality apps, according to the company.

The release of the upgraded product comes a full four years after Apple debuted the first version of its iPod touch. In addition to getting faster A10 Fusion Chips, Apple has announced that it’s rolling out a new Touch model that boasts 256 GB of storage for consumers who want more storage capacity.

The device remains the same in terms of appearance, with a physical home button and a four-inch screen. However, the internally-refreshed device is still cheaper than most newer iPhones.

The iPod touch is available now for $199 with a 32GB capacity, $299 for 128GB, and $399 for the 256GB model.

“We’re making the most affordable iOS device even better with performance that is twice as fast as before, Group FaceTime and augmented reality starting at just $199,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing, said in a statement. “The ultra-thin and lightweight design of iPod touch has always made it ideal for enjoying games, music and so much more wherever you go.”

Last year, Apple faced criticism and numerous lawsuits after it came to light that it failed to inform owners of older iPhones that a software update might slow down their devices.

Now, Apple has promised UK watchdog Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that it will “be clearer and more upfront” with users about whether a software update could affect the performance of their iPhone.

The group noted that Apple has "already started to be more upfront with iPhone users” in the wake of the iPhone slowdown controversy, but yesterday’s pledge "locks the firm into formal commitments always to notify people when issuing a planned software update if it is expected to materially change the impact of performance management on their phones,” the CMA said Wednesday.

Greater transparency

Additionally, Apple has vowed to give iPhone owners easier access to information about battery health and unexpected shutdowns, as well as guidance on how they can optimize the health of their phone’s lithium-ion battery.

“This could help people improve the performance of their own handset after a planned software update by, for example, changing settings, adopting the low power mode or replacing the battery - rather than resorting to having their phone repaired or replaced,” CMA explained. “The firm has agreed to do this both for current and future iPhones.”

Apple has maintained that the performance management feature introduced with iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2 was meant to “improve customers’ user experience” by prolonging the life of their aging phone battery.

In early 2018, Apple apologized for the way it handled the update and then took several steps to mitigate consumer frustration. Those steps included dropping the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements and adding a new Battery Health menu in iOS 11.3 to “further assist our customers and help extend the life of their iPhones.”

The CMA said on its website that Apple has now agreed to “improve the information it provides to people about the battery health of their phones and the impact performance management software may have on their phones” in order to comply with consumer law.

Tired of all the personal privacy lip service the tech giants have been spewing forth? If yes, then this might get your attention: Apple CEO Tim Cook wants consumers to know, “You are not our product.”

In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Cook did plenty of preaching-to-the-choir. “Our products are iPhones and iPads,” he said. “We treasure your data. We wanna help you keep it private and keep it safe.”

“We shouldn’t sugar-coat the consequences,” Cook said, possibly looking at Apple’s peers like Facebook that have failed to honor users’ data. “This is surveillance.”

“Privacy in itself has become a crisis -- it’s of that proportion,” Cook said. “Crisis” has become Cook’s favorite word, one he started using in late 2018 at the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners.

An online privacy crisis

Most consumers agree with Cook. In a recent Axios-SurveyMonkey poll, 58 percent of the consumers polled believe that the threat to online privacy is a crisis.

“Cook is right to stress Apple's focus on data protection as this is what will help them stand out from the competition in the areas they are now looking to dominate,” Sukhi Jutla, the Founder & COO at MarketOrders, told ConsumerAffairs. “He has cleverly picked the one key thing that his competitors have got so badly wrong, and the one area Apple can become the leaders in.”

Using an analogy from the consumer’s pre-digital life, Cook views privacy as being similar to a “peeping Tom.”

“If you think about it, when I was growing up, one of the worst things was … the ‘peeping Tom’ -- somebody looking in the window. The fact is the people who track on the internet know a lot more about you than if somebody’s looking in your window.”

Shifting from hardware to subscription-based revenue

Even though Apple’s historical bread and butter has been hardware, there’s a shift in focus taking place with iPhone sales headed downward and the subscription business for Apple Music and Apple Pay going up. Those two subscription services brought a combined $11.5 billion into the company’s coffers in the first quarter of 2019.

Adding to Apple’s future plans are Apple TV+, a new streaming service the company will roll out this Fall in hopes of making a dent in Netflix, and a security-driven credit card.

Does Apple have any other choice? Jutla says no.

''Apple is a victim of its own success; with iPhone sales declining as the market has become saturated (as their phones are great quality and everyone has one) they have no option but to look at other revenue streams such as subscription services.”

In its second-quarter earnings report, Qualcomm revealed that it will get between $4.5 billion and $4.7 billion from the deal it reached with Apple to resolve its years-long patent royalty dispute.

The two companies agreed on terms of a settlement early during an April trial, putting an end to a dispute that had been brewing since 2017.

The legal battle started when Apple argued that Qualcomm was abusing its position as a dominant supplier to charge “exorbitant” fees for patent licensing. Apple then began using Intel chips, which prompted Qualcomm to push to get iPhone imports banned in several countries for patent infringement.

Apple needed 5G chips

Apple had little choice but to settle with Qualcomm because it needed 5G modem chips for its 5G iPhones, according to Bloomberg. Apple originally planned to use Intel chips but determined they wouldn’t be ready in time for the 2020 release of the devices.

“If they didn’t settle with Qualcomm soon they’d miss next year’s product,” Mike Walkley, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, told the publication. “Building their own baseband will take years and Intel is behind. Maybe that was the final thing that got this done.”

In addition to requiring a one-time payment from Apple, the settlement calls for the two companies to enter into a six-year licensing agreement, as well as a "multiyear" wireless chipset supply agreement. The $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion Apple will pay Qualcomm will include "cash payment from Apple and the release of related liabilities,” Qualcomm said, according to Axios.

“We are also pleased to have reached multi-year agreements with Apple and look forward to continuing to support them as a customer,” Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said in a statement.

Apple over the weekend pulled 11 out of 17 of the most-downloaded screen time and parental control apps from its App Store because they put user privacy and security at risk, according to a New York Times report.

The report suggested that the tech giant engaged in anti-competitive behaviors by removing the apps because, in doing so, Apple snuffed out rivals to its own Screen Time software.

In an effort to shed light on why the apps were removed, Apple published a statement on its website explaining that the apps were abusing a kind of technology called Mobile Device Management (MDM). The tech giant stressed that use of the technology, which can give an app developer access to a range of sensitive user information, “is incredibly risky—and a clear violation of App Store policies—for a private, consumer-focused app business to install MDM control over a customer’s device.”

“Contrary to what The New York Times reported over the weekend, this isn’t a matter of competition. It’s a matter of security,” Apple said.

The company noted that one of its App Store guidelines states that apps “should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and indicate that integration in their app description.” MDM aren’t intended to be used to track and limit phone use, Apple said.

Accusations of anti-competitive practices

In response to Apple’s move, two developers (Qustodio and Kidslox) filed complaints with the European Union’s competition office, arguing that Apple forced them to modify their apps in a way that would make them less useful in comparison to Apple’s parental controls, according to the Times.

Spotify has also recently accused Apple of engaging in anticompetitive practices and limiting consumer choice on its Apple Music platform. In March, CEO Daniel Ek argued in an antitrust complaint that Apple forces rival streaming services to compete with Apple Music by charging a 30 percent tax on in-app purchases.

Earlier this year, Democratic Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren outlined a plan to prevent large tech companies like Apple from engaging in anti-competitive practices. To keep tech giants from stifling competition, she proposed designating large tech platforms as “platform utilities” and appointing regulators committed to reversing illegal and anticompetitive tech mergers.

“Tech entrepreneurs would have a fighting chance to compete against the tech giants,” Warren said.

Apple, which last month apologized to MacBook users experiencing keyboard issues, is making another effort to ease consumer frustration over its notoriously problematic “butterfly” keyboards.

The tech giant is now offering in-store MacBook keyboard repairs, according to Mac Rumors. In a memo to Genius Bar technicians obtained by the website, Apple said keyboard repairs should be "prioritized to provide next-day turnaround time.”

“Most keyboard-related repairs will be required to be completed in store until further notice. Additional service parts have been shipped to stores to support the increased volume,” Apple said. “These repairs should be prioritized to provide next-day turnaround time. When completing the repair, have the appropriate service guide open and carefully follow all repair steps.”

Years of user issues

In recent years, Apple has been hit by a scourge of consumer issues with its “butterfly” keyboards. Though the keyboards were advertised as being “refined for greater comfort and responsiveness,” users began noticing that the keyboards tended to start malfunctioning after being exposed to dirt or dust.

A lawsuit filed last May alleged that the updated MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards are “prone to fail,” and over 35,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking for Apple to recall the flawed keyboards.

Apple says it is now making sure that all of its retail locations have the necessary parts to repair keyboard issues in order to allow consumers to have their keyboard fixed in-store instead of waiting for their laptop to be returned from an off-site service center.

Mitigating the issue

Last year, Apple updated its keyboards to include a new silicone membrane inside each key to keep dust and other particles out. However, the company never confirmed that the improvement was related to keyboard issues.

The company’s first acknowledgement of problems with MacBook keyboards came last month in response to a Wall Street Journal article, which let readers choose whether to view the story with or without e’s and/or r’s in order to see the impact of a keyboard that isn’t working properly.

Apple made sure to emphasize that the “vast majority of Mac notebook customers are having a positive experience with the new keyboard” before stating that consumers who are still experiencing keyboard issues should contact Apple Support.

On Wednesday, Apple issued its first apology to users who are still experiencing problems with the “butterfly” keyboard on their MacBook.

“We are aware that a small number of users are having issues with their third generation butterfly keyboard and for that we are sorry,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.

Apple added that the “vast majority of Mac notebook customers are having a positive experience with the new keyboard” before stating that consumers who are still experiencing keyboard issues should contact Apple Support.

Apple’s apology was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which published a story on Wednesday that let readers choose whether to view the story with or without e’s and/or r’s in order to see the impact of a keyboard that isn’t working properly.

Criticism over keyboards

Apple unveiled its “butterfly” keyboard in 2015, advertising it as being “refined for greater comfort and responsiveness” compared to its standard “scissor” design. However, users began noticing that the keyboards tended to start malfunctioning after being exposed to dirt or dust.

A lawsuit filed last May alleged that the company’s “butterfly” keyboards are “prone to fail.”

“As a result of the defect, consumers who purchased a MacBook face a constant threat of non-responsive keys and accompanying keyboard failure. When one or more of the keys on the keyboard fail, the MacBook can no longer serve its core function: typing,” the suit said.

Over 35,000 people have also signed a Change.org petition asking for Apple to recall the flawed keyboards.

In 2018, Apple updated its keyboards to include a new part inside each key designed to keep dust and other particles out. However, the company never confirmed that the improvement was related to keyboard issues.

At a special event on Monday, Apple announced that its new streaming service, called “Apple TV+,” will be launching this Fall in more than 100 countries.

No pricing details were given, but the company said its forthcoming subscription service “will feature a brand new slate of programming from the world’s most celebrated creative artists, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa, M. Night Shyamalan, Jon M. Chu and more.”

• Steven Spielberg will be leading a reboot of the sci-fi series Amazing Stories;

• Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carrell will be in a comedy/drama about a TV morning news show which focuses on male-female dynamics at work;

• Jason Momoa will star in a drama/horror series called See;

• Kumail Nanjiani will produce a show about immigrants and children of immigrants;

• Oprah will be producing two documentaries for the service;

• Sesame Workshop is teaming up with Apple to develop a new show called Helpsters that helps kids learn computer coding skills.

Several big-name talents were present at the “It’s Showtime” event to speak about their new projects, but no trailers were shown.

Apple promised that subscribers to the new platform will “enjoy inspiring and authentic stories with emotional depth and compelling characters from all walks of life, ad-free and on demand.” New programming will be added every month.

Apple TV+ will work on the TV app for iOS and Apple TV, on the Mac via a TV app to be released later this year, and on smart TVs that can now run Apple's software.

Additional details to come

The tech giant provided a few details about projects that are currently in the works but left several questions unanswered. For example, Apple didn’t say which shows will go live at the launch of the service or if its lineup of shows will be distributed all at once or weekly.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, described the initial unveiling as a “sneak peak of Apple TV+” and added that the company “cannot wait” for viewers to tune in starting this fall.

“Apple TV+ will be home to some of the highest quality original storytelling that TV and movie lovers have seen yet,” Cue said in a press release. Apple said pricing and availability for Apple TV+ will be announced later this fall.

Crowded streaming market

Apple’s new streaming product will enter into a crowded streaming market -- one that is causing many consumers to experience “subscription fatigue.”

“Consumers may be entering a time of subscription fatigue,” said Kevin Westcott, vice chairman of the consulting firm Deloitte, which last week released its latest Digital Media Trends survey. The survey found that nearly half of consumers felt there are too many options and too many monthly fees to keep track of.

Media companies eyeing a piece of the streaming market share need to “keep a close eye on consumer frustrations, including advertising overload and data privacy concerns,” Wescott said.

Apple is currently testing a built-in sleep tracking functionality for the Apple Watch, Bloomberg reports. If the tests are successful, a source says the company plans to add the functionality to the Watch by 2020.

Bloomberg notes that Apple will have to increase the battery life of the Apple Watch or figure out a way to run the sleep-tracking functionality in low-power mode while the person sleeps. Alternatively, the company could also just ask users to charge their battery in the morning.

“Each Apple Watch model to date is advertised as being able to last a day with the need to charge it each night,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote. “In comparison, Fitbit’s watches with sleep tracking are marketed as being able to last as long as a week on one charge.”

New health- and fitness-related functionalities for the Apple Watch are put through “rigorous testing at labs around its campus,” Bloomberg said.

“The company also conducts in-house testing for new sensors on exercise equipment such as treadmills and bikes and has analyzed the Watch’s swim-tracking feature with testers at on-site swimming pools,” according to the publication. “The company also has testing chambers to mimic outside weather conditions and monitor users’ breathing and perspiration.”

Focusing on health

Adding a sleep-tracking functionality to the Apple Watch would expand its lineup of health and fitness tracking offerings. The Apple Watch already informs users if their heart rate has reached an unusually high or low rate and can detect irregular rhythms that could indicate risk for atrial fibrillation (AFib).

The company has also modified its Health App to allow users to view parts of their medical records. In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple may be aiming to allow patients to share their health information with other health apps.

Earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said health will likely be the company’s greatest contribution to mankind.

“If you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, ‘What was Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind?’ It will be about health,” Cook said in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer.

After word began spreading of the presence of an eavesdropping bug on FaceTime, Apple released an update that included a fix. However, Group FaceTime calls are still not working as intended for all iOS users, even under the iOS 12.1.4 update, MacRumors has reported.

Some users are finding that it’s not possible to switch from a standard FaceTime call to a group video chat because the option to “Add Person” isn’t available. Apple is reportedly aware of the issue but hasn’t provided a timeline for when it will be fixed.

Until a fix is released, those who run Official Apple Support Twitter accounts have suggested that users start their Group FaceTime sessions with "at least two additional" people.

The original bug

Apple was first alerted to the original FaceTime flaw at the end of January. The bug allowed callers to hear and see the person on the other end before they accepted the call.  

It wasn’t until a few weeks later, when reports of the bug began spreading on social media, that the company addressed the flaw. Apple disabled the feature earlier this month and issued the following statement:

"We want to assure our customers that as soon as our engineering team became aware of the details necessary to reproduce the bug, they quickly disabled Group FaceTime and began work on the fix," the company said. “We take the security of our products extremely seriously and we are committed to continuing to earn the trust Apple customers place in us.”

The iOS 12.1.4 update re-enabled Group FaceTime and fixed a “logic issue” in the service with “improved state management,” according to its release notes.

“Apple is actively working on iOS 12.2 Beta which has not yet seen the addition of the patch for Group FaceTime, but we'd expect them to address the ongoing bugs in a later 12.2 beta release,” MacRumors said.

Apple has partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to enable veterans to see their medical records -- including allergies, known conditions, medications, procedures, and more -- on the iPhone Health Records app.

“We have great admiration for veterans, and we’re proud to bring a solution like Health Records on iPhone to the veteran community,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “It’s truly an honor to contribute to the improved healthcare of America’s heroes.”

The tech giant said the new feature for veterans is coming “soon,” but it didn’t say if the access would come by way of an iOS update.

Betting on healthcare

Last March, Apple announced that iPhone users at more than 100 hospitals and clinics across the country would be able to access parts of their medical records through the Health app. In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple may be aiming to allow patients to share their health information with other health apps.

Earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said health will likely be the company’s greatest contribution to mankind.

“If you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, ‘What was Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind?’ It will be about health,” Cook said in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer.

Apple said the goal of its forthcoming feature for veterans is to “empower people to better understand and improve their health, enabling them to view their medical information from multiple providers in one place easily and securely.”

“We’re excited to bring this feature to veterans across the US,” said Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of Technology.

Almost two weeks after Apple disabled Group FaceTime after an eavesdropping bug was spotted by users, the tech giant has released an update that fixes the flaw.

On Thursday, Apple released iOS 12.1.4 -- an update that fixes a “logic issue” in Group FaceTime with “improved state management,” according to release notes. The update is available for the iPhone 5S and later, iPad Air and later, and iPod Touch 6th generation.

Apple's System Status page notes that Group FaceTime service has been fully restored.

"Today's software update fixes the security bug in Group FaceTime. We again apologize to our customers and we thank them for their patience," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. "In addition to addressing the bug that was reported, our team conducted a thorough security audit of the FaceTime service and made additional updates to both the FaceTime app and server to improve security.”

Slow response to bug

Last week, Apple apologized to users who were affected by a bug that allowed iPhone users to call another device via the FaceTime video chat service and hear the person on the other end before the recipient had accepted the call.

In its apology, the company sought to address criticism over its lag time in informing consumers of the privacy vulnerability. The bug was originally reported to Apple by a 14-year-old boy more than a week prior to its appearance in the media.

The company didn’t appear to address the bug until after it became public information due to the fact that the family of the teenager had trouble getting in contact with Apple. It wasn’t until the flaw was discovered by other users and went viral on social media that Apple turned off the feature and issued the following statement:

"We want to assure our customers that as soon as our engineering team became aware of the details necessary to reproduce the bug, they quickly disabled Group FaceTime and began work on the fix," the company said. “We take the security of our products extremely seriously and we are committed to continuing to earn the trust Apple customers place in us.”

Apple added that it’s “committed to improving the process by which we receive and escalate these reports.” The company said on Thursday that it will be contributing money toward the education of the boy who spotted and reported the bug before it went viral, but it didn't reveal how much the reward would be.

Apple has apologized for the FaceTime privacy vulnerability that became public news on Monday after having been discovered by a user and reported to the company more than a week prior.

The bug allowed callers to hear the person on the other line before they agreed to accept the call. If the recipient tried to block the call or turn off the device, their video camera would automatically begin recording. That video would then be sent back to the caller.

Apple disabled group FaceTime as a temporary fix, but only after reports of the bug had been shared widely in the media. The company had originally become aware of the flaw more than a week before it became public.

More permanent fix to come

On Friday, Apple said it will roll out a fixed version of the group calling feature next week.

“We have fixed the Group FaceTime security bug on Apple’s servers and we will issue a software update to re-enable the feature for users next week," the company said in a statement.

The tech giant credited the family of a 14-year-old boy who helped discover the flaw and report it to Apple.

"We thank the Thompson family for reporting the bug. We sincerely apologize to our customers who were affected and all who were concerned about this security issue. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we complete this process,” Apple said.

Slow response to the issue

Earlier this week, New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office would be opening an investigation on the bug -- specifically, Apple’s lag time in informing consumers of the flaw.

“We’re launching an investigation into Apple’s failure to warn consumers about the FaceTime privacy breach & their slow response to addressing the issue,” James said. “New Yorkers shouldn't have to choose between their private communications & their privacy rights.”

In its Friday statement, Apple attempted to win back consumers’ trust by saying that it’s “committed to improving the process by which we receive and escalate these reports.”

"We want to assure our customers that as soon as our engineering team became aware of the details necessary to reproduce the bug, they quickly disabled Group FaceTime and began work on the fix," the company said. “We take the security of our products extremely seriously and we are committed to continuing to earn the trust Apple customers place in us.”

New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday the launch of a probe into the recently discovered FaceTime bug.

The bug -- which was discovered by iPhone users and not security researchers -- enabled callers to hear the person on the other line before they had agreed to accept the call. If the recipient tried to block the call or turn off the device, their video camera automatically began recording. That video would then be sent back to the caller.

“The damage potential here is real. You can listen in to soundbites of any iPhone user’s ongoing conversation without them ever knowing that you could hear them,” 9to5Mac wrote on Monday. “Until Apple fixes the bug, it’s not clear how to defend yourself against this attack either aside from disabling FaceTime altogether.”

Slow response to the issue

Apple disabled the offending feature after it became public on Monday, but questions regarding the timeline for the deployment of the fix have lingered.

In its investigation, the Attorney General’s office will be focusing on Apple’s slow response to the FaceTime bug. A consumer first reported the bug to Apple more than a week before it was shared widely in the media.

“We’re launching an investigation into Apple’s failure to warn consumers about the FaceTime privacy breach & their slow response to addressing the issue,” James said. “New Yorkers shouldn't have to choose between their private communications & their privacy rights.”

The Attorney General’s office will be evaluating Apple’s actions in relation to the laws set forth by the State of New York, James noted.

“We must use every tool at our disposal to ensure that consumers are always protected,” she added.

People who own iPhones have noticed a disturbing phenomenon. When they make calls on the FaceTime app, they can hear the person on the other line before the recipient has agreed to accept the call.

And if the recipient tries to block the call or turn off the device, their video camera automatically turns on, unbeknownst to the person being recorded.  A video is then sent back to the caller.

The discovery wasn’t made by a security research firm, but by iPhone users who caught the flaw and posted videos on social media to demonstrate how it works. The Apple news site 9to5mac.com then successfully recreated the bug using two iPhones that run on Apple’s 12.1 operating systems.

“The damage potential here is real. You can listen in to soundbites of any iPhone user’s ongoing conversation without them ever knowing that you could hear them,” the publication wrote on Monday. “Until Apple fixes the bug, it’s not clear how to defend yourself against this attack either aside from disabling FaceTime altogether.”

Issues surfaces on Data Privacy Day

The discovery came on January 28, the same date as Data Privacy Day, a holiday created by tech industry giants to celebrate privacy. Or the idea of privacy, anyway.  

“On this #DataPrivacyDay let us all insist on action and reform for vital privacy protections,” Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted on Monday, in celebration of the holiday.

In practice, Apple seems not particularly excited about tackling this privacy issue. As consumers began sounding alarms about the eavesdropping bug, an Apple spokesman told reporters that “we’re aware of this issue and we have identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week.”

With no specific date provided by Apple as to when the problem will be fixed, Apple experts and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have urged people to disable their FaceTime app to avoid being unknowingly recorded by people on the other line.

"The FaceTime bug is an egregious breach of privacy that puts New Yorkers at risk," Cuomo said in a statement.

As of Monday evening, Apple appeared to disable the group chatting feature on FaceTime.

During the first three months of 2019, Apple plans to reduce its iPhone production by about 10 percent, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on Wednesday.

The tech giant is reportedly trimming the planned production targets of both old and new iPhones by about 10 percent from January through March, which works out to about 40 million to 43 million units compared to an earlier production target of 47 million to 48 million units, unnamed sources told the publication.

"The level of revision is different for each supplier and depends on the product mix they supply,” one source said. The Cupertino, California company apparently told its suppliers to produce fewer new iPhones even before Apple slashed its earnings forecast last week.

The reduced manufacturing targets apply to all new iPhone models (the SX, SX Max and XR).

Weakened iPhone demand in China

The newly-lowered production targets come as a result of reduced iPhone demand in China, the world's largest smartphone market. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said that the company expects to report fiscal first-quarter sales of $84 billion, down from an earlier forecast of $89 billion to $93 billion in revenue.

“Lower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in Greater China, accounts for all of our revenue shortfall to our guidance and for much more than our entire year-over-year revenue decline,” Cook said last week.

Despite disappointing sales, Cook maintains that there is no boycott of Apple products in China amid the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

Looking ahead in 2019

In an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday, Cook said Apple’s long-term health “has never been better.”

"In terms of the naysayer, I've heard this over and over again," Cook said in the interview. "I've heard it in 2001, I've heard it in 2005, in '7, in '8, in '10, in '12 and '13. You can probably find the same quotes from the same people over and over again."

Cook said announcements of new services are on the horizon and hinted that forthcoming additions to the company’s offerings will be “material” and tied to health care.

“You will see us announce new services this year. There will be more things coming,” Cook said. “I believe it’ll be material over time.”

“If you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, ‘What was Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind?’ It will be about health,” Cook said.

Apple has altered its App Store Guidelines to allow consumers to gift in-app purchases to friends and family, according to MacRumors. The company previously prevented users from doing so.

Prior to the change, Apple said apps "should not directly or indirectly enable gifting of in-app purchase content, features or consumable items to others."

On Wednesday, Apple tweaked its guidelines to say, “Apps may enable gifting of items that are eligible for in-app purchase to others." The tech giant notes that the gifts can only be refunded to the original purchaser and cannot be exchanged.

Since the gifting policy is new to Apple, it’s not yet clear how the company plans to implement the change.

Currently, users can gift an app to someone else by tapping the three dots icon next to its price and selecting the “Gift App” option from the menu. From there, the recipient will be sent an email with a credit for the app.

Apart from making the revision to section 3.1 of its guidelines, Apple hasn’t provided details on how in-app gifting will be handled. The company is expected to offer more information about gifting support for in-app purchases in the near future.

Apple woke up on Monday to a giant problem attributed to its latest iPhone operating software update. Forbes reported that iOS 12.1.1 is "killing" the data of many iPhone users and forcing them to go online via WiFi.

"Major issues using cellular data," and "I’m concerned that this is potentially a bigger issue than just iOS 12.1.1" commented frustrated users on Twitter.

Gordon Kelly, Forbes’ consumer tech reporter, deduced that with more than a billion iPhones in active use, the issue "is clearly having a sizeable impact on a number of users."

Apple’s newest iPhone software had good intentions -- stability improvements for dictation, DoNotDisturb upgrades, the ability to make iPhone use "less addictive," and FaceTime improvements among them -- yet, the company apparently failed to heed reported issues from users and released the update anyway.

"Consequently, I would advise anyone who has yet to upgrade to iOS 12.1.1 to do so cautiously," Kelly wrote. "With any minority problem, the odds are on your side that you will escape unharmed, but those who are affected are hit with one of the worst problems a smartphone owner can have."

What to do

While this problem can be a giant hassle, it’s not Apple’s modus operandi to leave issues like this unmet.

In fact, the company is already addressing the problem on its Twitter channel.

"We want to help resolve any issues you may be experiencing with iOS 12.1.1. Have you noticed whether these issues seem to be happening only with certain apps? Please DM us the answer here to get started," the company tweeted. Its support team is available every day to answer your questions, from 5am-8pm PST, on the company’s Twitter channel.

Should you be worried?

While the company won’t "confirm security issues until an investigation has occurred and patches or releases are available," there are no reports that personal data has been breached as part of the issue iPhone users are experiencing.

ConsumerAffairs searched for proven fixes but was unable to find any that users claimed success with -- restarting and resetting network settings and rolling back the system software to a previous version among them.

If you have an iPhone that’s impacted by the data/WiFi issue, your best bets are to either a) be patient until Apple rolls out a fix; or b) contact Apple and ask for help.

However, if your operating system hasn’t been updated to 12.1.1, it may be wise to turn off "Automatic Updates" in your system settings until the problem has been corrected.

Apple has announced that, in January, it will launch a free app development program specifically for female entrepreneurs with app-driven businesses.

The two-week program, called Entrepreneur Camp, will give female app developers the opportunity to attend private coding sessions with Apple engineers, learn more about app design and marketing, and receive ongoing mentoring from an Apple Developer representative.

Apple says its immersive program was “designed to create new opportunities for app-driven businesses owned or led by women through an intensive technology lab.”

"Apple is committed to helping more women assume leadership roles across the tech sector and beyond," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "We're proud to help cultivate female leadership in the app development community with the new Entrepreneur Camp, and we're inspired both by the incredible work that's already happening, and what's sure to come."

Focusing on female iOS developers

Those eligible to participate in the program must be part of a company that is female-founded, female co-founded, or female-led, and has at least one woman on the development team. The program is inclusive to transgender women. The company must also have a working app or prototype.

"It's a fact that women are underrepresented in the industry," Esther Hare, Apple senior director of worldwide developer marketing and executive sponsor of Women @ Apple, told CNET. "And there's a huge disparity [in the] entrepreneur world when it comes to access and funding. There's an opportunity to do more and give exposure to women-led businesses."

Apple is currently accepting applications for its first session, which will take place at the tech giant’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. The pilot camp will be comprised of 10 companies, but a new session will be held each quarter with up to 20 participating companies.

In addition to receiving training and support, each company will get a free year in the Apple Developer program and two tickets to Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) for the following year.

If you seem to be experiencing a lack of response when you touch the screen of your iPhone X, it might not be your imagination.

Apple says it has determined that the displays on some of the phones may have touch issues because there is a component in the display module that might fail.

You know your phone is one of those affected if the display, or any part of it, does not respond or responds intermittently when you touch it. Apple says the defect can also cause the display to react at times that it wasn't touched.

If it's found that your iPhone X has the defect, Apple or an authorized Apple service provider will repair it at no charge. First, the phone will get a thorough inspection to make sure it's one of the affected models.

Breaking new ground

Apple introduced the iPhone X in September 2017 and broke new ground, both in regard to design and features as well as price. The iPhone X retailed for $1,000.

The X is encased in glass with a 5.8 inch Super Retina display with an enhanced camera and a Face ID system that can be used to unlock the phone and make payments. The device, however, was not without a few issues. In July, Alan of Albany, N.Y. contacted ConsumerAffairs to report repeated problems with his X.

"I have had an iPhone X for three months and am already on my third phone," Alan wrote in his post. "The facial recognition keeps malfunctioning. It also seems to freeze up and needs rebooting often."

A few months after its release, technology site CNET reported that the iPhone X appeared to be unusually fragile, primarily because of its glass back. It said the amount of surface that can break when subjected to impact is double that of the iPhone X predecessors.

Unknown number of devices are affected

Apple hasn't estimated how many iPhone X devices are affected by the faulty display component, but Forbes notes that the company did not say what it usually does when reporting an issue -- that the problem affects only a "small percentage" of devices.

Before taking your iPhone X in for service, Apple recommends that you back up your device to iTunes or iCloud first. If the device has other damage, such as a cracked screen, Apple says that issue will need to be resolved prior to the service.

Meanwhile, Apple says consumers who have already paid to replace their display module because of this defect can contact the company about getting a refund. The company provides full details here.

Apple has added iPhone 8 and iPhone X models to its lineup of phones it may one day throttle to prolong battery life, despite having told U.S. senators in February that the controversial feature isn’t as necessary for these models.

In an update to its support page, first reported by The Verge, the company said the feature -- which Apple says is meant to prevent unexpected shutdowns -- has been expanded to 2017's iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus.

“Additionally, users can see if the performance management feature that dynamically manages maximum performance to prevent unexpected shutdowns is on and can choose to turn it off,” Apple said.

“This feature applies to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus. Starting with iOS 12.1, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X include this feature, but performance management may be less noticeable due to their more advanced hardware and software design.”

Can be disabled

Last year, Apple faced a great deal of backlash for not being upfront with consumers about the presence of the feature. In response to user discontent over its performance management feature, the tech giant introduced a cheaper battery replacement program.

The company was just recently hit with a $5.7 million fine from an Italian watchdog group for failing to tell consumers about the “essential” characteristics of the lithium-ion batteries in its phones.

Earlier this year, Apple told Congress that these newer iPhone models had “hardware updates” that would make throttling less necessary.

"iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X models include hardware updates that allow a more advanced performance-management system that more precisely allows iOS to anticipate and avoid an unexpected shutdown," Apple said at the time.

The feature did end up making it into the models after all, but it can be toggled off by entering the Battery Health section of Settings and disabling the Peak Performance Capability feature.

Consumers in the U.S. can now download a copy of the data Apple has stored about them.

The tech giant’s new privacy portal, which was unveiled on Wednesday, follows the May implementation of a European data-privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Under GDPR, consumers in Europe have the right to obtain a copy of data a company holds about them, rescind previously-given consent for a company to collect data about them, and request that data be deleted.

In an effort to bring the same privacy tools to consumers in the U.S., Apple has now fulfilled an earlier promise to offer a service that allows users to download a copy of all the personal data the company has about them that is linked to an Apple ID.

How to download your data

With its new privacy portal, Apple is giving U.S. users the ability to access the information held about them, delete information, pause an Apple.com account, or even shut it down.

Here’s how to retrieve data associated with a particular Apple ID account:

• Go to Apple’s Privacy Portal.Sign in with your Apple ID and password and enter your two-factor authentication code if you have it enabled.

• Request a copy of your data. Click on “Obtain a copy of your data” and select the data that you would like to download, or choose “select all” to download everything.

• Go through the account verification steps. Apple must confirm that you are the account holder and may ask you a few additional verification questions. Once the data is compiled and ready to download (which can take up to seven days), you will get a notification and be sent a .zip file with the information.

Apple is donating its Apple Watches to 1,000 participants of a new study called BEGIN, which stands for Binge Eating Genetics Initiative.

The study, which will be conducted by the the University of North Carolina's medical school, aims to shed light on the underlying biological changes that cause a person to suffer from a binge eating disorder.

A person may be diagnosed with a binge-eating disorder, such as bulimia nervosa, if they slip into a pattern of binge eating and then purge or exercise to excess in an effort to compensate for the amount of calories they were unable to stop themselves from consuming.

Monitoring biological changes

The study will enroll 1,000 participants over the age of 18 who are stuck in this cycle of eating large amounts of food in a short period of time followed by a compensatory behavior.

Each participant will be given a free Apple Watch. They will also be instructed to sign up with a mobile app called Recovery Record, which will let them keep a digital log of their thoughts and feelings.

The data logged by the Apple Watch will allow researchers to see each participant’s heart rate, with the goal of spotting any sudden increases prior to binge eating episodes. Participants will also receive tests to analyze their genetics and bodily bacteria, which will be used by researchers to gain further insight into the causes of the disease.

"We need to collect data from a whole lot of people to see what it looks like," said Cynthia Bulik, founding director of the Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders and author of Binge Control: A Compact Recovery Guide. "We want to know if it has a biological and behavioral signature."

Predicting binge eating incidents

The researchers say the ultimate goal of the study is to observe a particular change that would enable them to predict binge eating episodes before they happen. With this information, a follow-up study could be designed to help set up some kind of alert when a person is at risk of binge eating.

"We're interested to find out what happens in the time period leading up to the binge and the purge," said Jenna Tregarthen, CEO of Recovery Record. "And we hope we can anticipate and ultimately change the course of that episode."

At least 30 million people in the U.S. suffer from an eating disorder, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. About 1 in 50 western women between 15 and 24 years old suffers from bulimia.

Apple has filed a patent called “Detection of spoofed call information,” which would enable iPhones to analyze whether an incoming call is legitimate, AppleInsider reports.

“A mobile device receives an invitation to commence a media session. The invitation may be from a legitimate caller or from a spoofing caller. The mobile device checks parameters using templates to evaluate a consistency of the invitation with respect to a database in the mobile device,” Apple said in its description of the patent.

If the system believes anyone has performed call spoofing on the inbound call, it will alert the user before they answer the call.

Cracking down on nuisance calls

News of the patent filing, which was initially made on April 5, 2017, comes a month after recent research showed a dramatic uptick in the number scam calls made to mobile phones.

Last month, a report by First Orion predicted that nearly half of all calls made to mobile phones in the U.S. will be scams by next year. The firm said the only way to curtail these calls is for the industry to come up with effective call protection solutions.

Phone spoofing is different from phone spam in that it’s considered an offense by the FCC. The practice refers to the manipulation of caller ID in ways that disguise the identity of the caller. Phone spoofing violations are subject to steep fines.

Nonetheless, Apple’s technology could represent a step in the right direction toward reducing the overall number of unwanted calls consumers receive. It’s worth noting that the company files numerous patents each week, so there’s a chance it may never become available.

Google has also expressed an interest in curbing spam and nuisance calls. At its “Made By Google” event this week, the tech giant unveiled a Call Screen feature that utilizes Google Assistant to help detect and block spam calls. The company also recently updated its phone app with the ability to send spam calls straight to voicemail.

Engineers at Apple have told Congress they have found no evidence of tampering with their servers purchased from Super Micro that would allow China to intercept data.

It follows the company's strong denial last week in response to a Bloomberg BusinessWeek story that circuit boards in the servers, obtained through a Chinese subcontractor, contained a tiny microchip giving the Chinese government access to data residing on the servers.

Reuters reports it obtained copies of letters Apple Vice President for Information Security George Stathakopoulos wrote to the House and Senate committees on commerce. Both panels have said they planned to investigate the claims in the Bloomberg reports.

In the letter, Stathakopoulos said the claim had been thoroughly investigated, both before and after the article appeared. Reuters quotes the Apple executive as telling the committees that “Apple’s proprietary security tools are continuously scanning for precisely this kind of outbound traffic, as it indicates the existence of malware or other malicious activity. Nothing was ever found.”

Offers to brief committees

Stathakopoulos said he would be in Washington this week and offered to brief the staff of the committees on Apple's findings. At the time Bloomberg published its claims, Apple and Amazon both vigorously denied their servers had been compromised.

Apple said it was "deeply disappointed" that the Bloomberg reporters working on the story did not appear to consider the possibility their sources were wrong.

"Our best guess is that they are confusing their story with a previously reported 2016 incident in which we discovered an infected driver on a single Super Micro server in one of our labs," the company said in the statement. "That one-time event was determined to be accidental and not a targeted attack against Apple."

Amazon was also adamant in its denial. In a statement, the company said that it had “found no evidence to support claims of malicious chips or hardware modifications."

At the end of last week, Bloomberg said it stood by the substance of its story. It said the claim that a Chinese government entity had inserted a "bug" into a component widely used in servers was based on interviews with 17 anonymous sources.

Apple paraded out its new iPhone models on Friday. As the clock struck 8am local time around the world, the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 went on sale.

Buying -- and keeping up with -- technology has turned into a pricey game. When Apple released its first iPhone in 2007, the price was $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8 GB model. Now, customers are looking at nearly double that price if they want to buy the new iPhone XS with 64 GB.

Granted, the improvements Apple has made -- like fixes for the microphone and battery issues -- along with the bells and whistles it’s added over the years, make keeping up with the Joneses alluring. But, what about that older model iPhone you have? Does it have enough value to trade it in or sell it on the open market?

It depends.

ConsumerAffairs researched the values a consumer could expect to get from selling or trading in their old iPhones. If you trade your phone in directly to Apple, the values run from $70 for an iPhone 6 to $525 for the most recent iPhone X.

But it’s worth doing some shopping, as other online tech buyers might offer more. When ConsumerAffairs checked prices for that same iPhone 6 on certain exchange sites, we found better prices than those that Apple offered, but lower values than Apple was allowing for factory unlocked iPhone 7 models.

For consumers who are Apple diehards and wouldn’t give an Android phone the time of day, Apple has a program called the “iPhone Upgrade Program” which allows consumers to get a new iPhone every year with AppleCare+ included for as little as $37.41 a month.

Patience may be a virtue

MacWorld cautions against buying an iPhone the moment a new model is launched.

“You might be happy to wait a month or two after the launch and wait for supply to catch up with demand, and for any problems with the new phones to be identified and (hopefully) fixed,” wrote MacWorld’s Karen Haslam.

“We'd say that it's worth buying a new iPhone within nine months of it launching, but by June/July we'd recommend putting off your purchase until the autumn - unless your current iPhone is broken and won't tide you over for three or four more months. It is our experience that after the event the prices of the current-generation iPhones will drop. And if you're really not bothered about specs, you might be able to pick up an even older iPhone that Apple has discontinued as mobile phone companies discount those models to clear stock.”

Haslam also reminds consumers that Apple no doubt has a Black Friday promotion up their sleeve. While Apple might not drop prices on its phones, it’s possible the company may offer an additional gift card.

Thought about repurposing your old phone?

If you’re insulted by the prices companies are offering for older model smartphones, there are dozens of ways to turn them into something useful.

If you have Wi-Fi handy, phones can be repurposed into TV remotes, dedicated Skype stations, baby monitors, or even digital cookbooks.

“In general, it’s a good idea to keep an old smartphone as a backup in case your shiny new model breaks for any reason,” suggests BensBargains, “but you can certainly reuse it elsewhere in your life at the same time.”

Don’t forget the possible tax deduction

For consumers who are small business owners or use their phones for business purposes, buying a new phone might provide a tax deduction.

However, buyers should be aware of a caveat involved in pursuing that option.

“If people have used their phones for a business and have written off the cost on their taxes, they may be surprised to learn that the trade-in value is now considered taxable income,” wrote Morris Armstrong, an Enrolled Agent licensed by the IRS and tax practitioner, in comments to ConsumerAffairs.

“If a consumer bought an iPhone for $1,000 and took that amount as a tax deduction, then trades it in against a new model for, say, $400, that $400 is taxable income!”

Apple has introduced three new iPhone models and an updated Apple Watch. It's the watch that's creating the most buzz so far.

Called the Apple Watch Series 4, the redesigned and re-engineered watch takes another step closer to becoming a medical device. It includes a new accelerometer and gyroscope to detect hard falls, along with an electrical heart rate sensor that has earned a De Novo classification by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

FDA worked with Apple

As Apple unveiled the new watch, the FDA released a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb welcoming Apple's entry into the healthcare field, noting the new watch has two apps that consumers may find particularly useful.

"One app creates an electrocardiogram, similar to traditional electrocardiograms, to detect the presence of atrial fibrillation and regular heart rhythm, while the other app analyzes pulse rate data to identify irregular heart rhythms suggestive of atrial fibrillation and notify the user," Gottlieb said. "The FDA worked closely with the company as they developed and tested these software products, which may help millions of users identify health concerns more quickly."

The new Apple Watch with GPS alone will be available for pre-order in 26 countries and territories beginning Friday, September 14. The watch with GPS plus cellular will be available to order in 16 countries Friday. Both will be in stores Friday, September 21.

New iPhones

Apple has also introduced three new additions to its iPhone line-up -- the iPhone Xs, the iPhone Xs Max, and the iPhone XR. All three phones feature the all-screen design introduced with the iPhone X.

The phones are different sizes, ranging from 5.8 to 6.5 inches, and all three feature enhanced cameras, processors, and operating systems.

The iPhone Xs starts at $999, while the iPhone Xs Max starts at $1,099. The iPhone XR starts at $749.

The iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max will be available for pre-order starting Friday, September 14, with availability beginning Friday, September 21 in more than 30 countries and territories.

The iPhone X will be available to pre-order beginning Friday, October 19 and in stores beginning Friday, October 26.

Users that download Adware Doctor -- the number one grossing paid app in the Utilities category on Apple’s Mac App Store -- should be warned: the app has been found to steal users’ browsing histories.

Though Apple was reportedly warned of the issue weeks ago, the company has yet to pull the app from the App Store.

For years, Apple has touted the security of its apps for iPhone and Mac, strictly on the basis that users can’t install apps that aren’t found in the App Store. Apple has incredibly strict criteria for allowing apps access to the App Store. The company rejects a staggering number of apps, thus blocking users from downloading them.

A look into Adware Doctor

For just $4.99, Adware Doctor promises to “keep your Mac safe” and “get rid of annoying pop-up ads” and “discover and remove threats on your Mac.”

However, that’s not all the app supposedly does. Last month, the security firm Malwarebytes posted a video on Youtube stating that Adware Doctor also steals and downloads users’ browser histories to servers in China that are run by the app’s creators.

Security researcher Patrick Wardle -- a former NSA hacker and current chief research officer at cybersecurity startup Digita Security -- discovered just how Adware Doctor was able to trip Apple’s system.

According to Wardle, Adware Doctor was able to bypass Apple’s sandboxing features, which are designed to prevent apps from stealing users’ data from the hard drive. Once through, he says it was possible to upload a user’s browser history from Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

The app was also able to request access to users’ home directory and files -- which Wardle notes is common for malware protection apps, as they are designed to scan this information for any potential issues. However, he says that deficiencies in Apple’s cross-checking allowed the app to get through. When users grant the app that access, it collects and cleans any adware found. Wardle said the app can then collect and export any data it deems to be dangerous.

After collecting it, Wardle says the data is zipped into an archive file and sent to China.

“Let’s face it, your browsing history provides a glimpse into almost every aspect of your life,” Wardle said. “And people have even been convicted based largely on their internet searches!”

Apple has not yet commented on this issue.

Some iPhone 8 devices are malfunctioning as a result of a manufacturing defect. Apple has acknowledged the problem and issued a recall of iPhone 8 devices sold between September 2017 and March 2018.

The company said on its website that faulty logic boards are causing “a very small percentage” of iPhones sold during this time frame to unexpectedly restart, freeze the screen, or not turn on at all.

Consumers experiencing any of these problems can get the logic board in their device fixed for free, as long as the device in question is in original condition (meaning no physical damage, such as a cracked screen).

Apple said the affected devices were sold in the U.S., Australia, China, India, Japan, Macua, and New Zealand.

iPhone 8 owners can check to see if their device is affected by entering the unit’s serial code number on the company's website. To find the device's serial number, go into: Settings > General > About > Serial number.

Starting August 24 and continuing through August 31, Apple customers will be able to support America’s National Parks by making a purchase using Apple Pay on apple.com, through the Apple Store app, or at the company’s retail locations in the United States.

For every purchase made, Apple is donating $1 to the National Park Foundation. Proceeds will support the National Park Foundation's mission to protect national parks through projects like habitat restoration and historic preservation, as well as with support programs like Open OutDoors for Kids, according to Apple.

“America's national parks are treasures everyone should experience, and we're proud to support them again this month by donating a dollar for every purchase made with Apple Pay at one of our stores,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

“These awe-inspiring places are our national inheritance, and Apple is doing our part to pass them on to future generations — just as extraordinary, beautiful and wild as we found them.”

Apple Watch activity challenge

Apple is also introducing a National Park-themed fitness challenge, which will start on September 1.

Apple Watch users who either walk, run, or do a wheelchair workout of 50 minutes or more will earn an Activity app award and stickers that are inspired by national parks. The challenge is in celebration of Redwood National Park’s 50th anniversary.

The App Store also plans to highlight apps designed to help users navigate and explore national parks. Apple ran similar initiatives last year.

In an effort to ensure consumers’ privacy when using their own devices, U.S. lawmakers recently stepped in and confronted both Apple and Alphabet.  

Back in July, Representatives Greg Walden, Marsha Blackburn, Gregg Harper, and Robert Latta wrote a letter to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet’s chief executive Larry Page. The group expressed concerns about reports that users’ devices could “collect ‘non-triggered’ audio data from users’ conversations near a smartphone in order to hear a ‘trigger’ phrase, such as ‘Okay Google’ or ‘Hey Siri.’”

This week, Apple formally reported that iPhones do not listen to consumers without their consent, and the company doesn’t allow third-party apps to do so either.

Apple wrote a letter back to Walden and his group, confirming that iPhones do not record users’ while waiting for Siri wake-up commands. Not only must apps clearly display a signal that they are listening to users, but users are also required to approve microphone access for all apps. Additionally, Apple confirmed that Siri does not share users’ spoken words.

According to a spokeswoman for the Republican majority on the House and Energy Committee, “both companies have been cooperative thus far. The Committee looks forward to reviewing and analyzing the responses as we consider next steps.”

Third-party apps

The lawmakers were concerned about Apple’s iPhones, but they also had reservations about third-party apps and their ability to record users.

In the letter to lawmakers, Apple confirmed that it had banned apps from the App Store due to violations of its privacy regulations. However, the company did not report whether or not it had banned any app developers. Additionally, Apple puts the onus on app developers to inform consumers when an app is removed due to privacy violations.

“Apple does not and cannot monitor what developers do with the customer data they have collected, or prevent the onward transfer of that data, nor do we have the ability to ensure a developer’s compliance with their own privacy policies or local law,” Apple wrote in the letter to lawmakers.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), one of Apple’s main suppliers for iPhone chips, was recently hit with a computer virus outbreak. While the company has warned that revenue will likely take a hit, shipment dates will also be affected.

The virus struck TSMC on Friday, forcing the company to shut down its semiconductor fabrication plants. TSMC publicly shared the news on Saturday, noting that third quarter revenue will likely be down three percent, or $255 million, from previous estimates.

TSMC reported that the virus occurred due to “misoperation” during the software installation process for a new tool. No confidential information was released or compromised, and though there have been no indications of any kind of cyber attack, analysts are pushing TSMC for more information on what exactly happened.

“In our view, ‘misoperation’ is simply not good enough an explanation,” said Fubon Research. “Although TSMC pointed out data integrity and confidential information were not compromised, we think TSMC needs to provide more details of what happened to alleviate the security concerns of customers and long-term investors.”

TSMC reported that 80 percent of its affected tools have been repaired, and the virus should be completely gone by today. Additionally, the company informed most of its customers of the issue but didn’t specify which customers had been notified.

TSMC and Apple

As one of TSMC’s biggest customers, Apple utilizes the company to create its A11 processors in the iPhone X. TSMC will also be producing the next generation A12 processor that is expected to be released in Apple’s newest phones later this year.

As of right now, analysts are unsure of the effect this virus will have on Apple and the production of its iPhones.

Fubon Research reported today that it expects 1.5 million to 1.7 million A12 chips will be delayed because of the virus, though the company is expected to produce 83 million units for iPhones in the second half of 2018.

“Since TSMC indicated the delayed shipment from this incident will be recovered in the following quarter, we think there will be no meaningful impact on Apple’s new coming iPhone,” Fubon said in the report.

Additionally, KGI analysts reported that an impact on iPhones would be minimal because the supply chain “usually prepares for these incidents and manufactures surplus chipsets during the initial ramp-up stage.”

Apple, as a company, moved into rarefied air Thursday as it became the first American company to be worth $1 trillion.

A company's value, or market cap, is determined by multiplying the number of shares of the company by its stock price. Apple's market cap hit the $1 trillion mark when the stock rose to $207.04 a share. It reached an intraday high of $208.38 before closing at $207.39.

The catalyst for the move was a better than expected earnings report, issued at mid week. Apple did not increase its share of the smartphone market during the quarter, but it had stronger iPhone profits because it sold units at a higher average price. It also recorded gains in its growing services business.

Stock market guru Jim Cramer says Apple's value can go even higher because he says the firm shouldn't be valued like a tech company.

'It's a consumer products company'

"It's a consumer products company with the best devices ever, which is why it's got more customer loyalty than practically any other brand on earth," Cramer said on CNBC. "Yet the stock is much, much cheaper on an earnings basis ... than Clorox. If we simply valued Apple like the bleach maker, guess what?"

Cramer then suggested $300 a share isn't an unrealistic price for Apple. He said the company's recent success has come from its subscription services. He notes Apple now charges consumers a monthly fee to backup their data.

Revolutionary innovator

Apple has been a revolutionary innovator during the technology revolution, but has been far from an overnight success. In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started the company in Jobs' garage in Los Altos, Calif. The company struggled until it introduced the Macintosh, a self-contained personal computer, in the 1980s. The Mac was also the first personal computer to use a mouse for navigation.

The company had its ups and downs throughout the fast-changing 1990s, but Jobs returned to become CEO of Apple in 1997, putting it in the lead of product development. After introducing the iPod music player, Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, which he predicted would change the world. (See video below)

Jobs died in 2011 and Wozniak left the company in 1985, though he remains as a co-founder and consultant.

“Of course I’m proud of Apple, but I don’t measure the world by human simplifications like round numbers,” Wozniak told Yahoo Finance. “A company is great because it is great.”

A federal jury in California found Apple guilty of patent infringement. WiLAN, a Canadian intellectual property company, was awarded $145.1 million in damages as a result.

Based on a statement released by WiLAN, the patents involved in the case relate to some of the iPhone’s wireless technologies. One is for a “method and apparatus for bandwidth request protocols in a wireless communication system,” and the other is for “adaptive call admission control for use in a wireless communication system.”

Though Apple has yet to comment on the jury’s decision, the company does plan to appeal and has “earlier rejected claims of infringement in pre-trial filings,” according to Reuters.

History in court

This isn’t the first time Apple and WiLAN have met in court.

In October of 2013, a court found that Apple did not infringe on WiLAN’s wireless technology patents. The Canadian firm -- which touts itself as “one of the most successful patent licensing companies in the world” -- accused a number of companies, including Apple, HP, and HTC of using proprietary wireless networking technology without a proper license.

Of the companies involved in the suit, Apple was the only one that didn’t agree to settle, instead choosing to go to court.

WiLAN sought $248 million damages in the suit, but Apple argued that Qualcomm was responsible for the license, as it was the manufacturer that supplied the wireless components under scrutiny. Apple’s attorneys argued that WiLAN was looking for a bigger payday, and therefore decided to go against Apple. However, the jury ultimately ruled in favor of Apple.

Apple is in serious damage control over the new MacBook Pros that the company released last week -- the models the company pitched as "70 percent faster" and "ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects or doing advanced image processing or film editing."

As reviewers put the new machines to the test, one critic found an issue that caused the machines to unduly throttle when in those "advanced" situations like exporting video.

YouTube reviewer Dave Lee discovered that the new MacBook overheats when it’s operating at full speed for a certain period of time. According to Lee, performing a video export in Adobe Premiere took longer on a new MacBook equipped with the latest Intel CPU than it did on a 2017 MacBook using an older version of Intel.

"Power throttling and thermal throttling isn’t anything new -- we’ve seen them in MacBooks for years," Lee said. "We’ve seen it in lots of devices, including Windows, but this degree of thermal throttling is not acceptable."

Once Lee uncovered the problem, other reviewers and testers put the new MacBook through its paces and many replicated the throttling problem.

To Apple’s credit, it didn’t sit still when it heard about the problem. On Tuesday, the company released an update (macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update for MacBook Pro) for its system software, one that the company hopes will address the bug once and for all.

An Apple spokesperson told CNET that a missing digital key which affects the laptop's thermal management systems was to blame for the issue.

So, buy or hold off?

While the issue raises concerns, it doesn’t appear to be something a typical user would encounter.

John Poole, Founder of Primate Labs, put the new MacBook through a "stress test" and offered his recommendation for the device. "If your work doesn’t involve long-running tasks that are CPU- and GPU-intensive (such as Premiere) then the new MacBook Pro should provide a considerable increase in performance," he said.

There don’t seem to be any other issues lurking for the new MacBooks. Apple went to great lengths to make sure the last bugaboos -- which included keyboard and battery issues -- were taken care of in the new models.

While Apple offered gratis fixes for those issues, getting a free repair isn’t a given. As most anything related to technology is wont to do, consumers are wise to consider extended warranties, especially if they plan on holding onto a unit for more than three years.

Apple MacBook lovers are enjoying Christmas in July as the tech giant’s new 13-inch and 15-inch models are out and Apple is hoping consumers find the new models better than ever.

The company touts seven upgrades to its MacBook line, including the ability to crunch code faster, adjust the color of the display to match a room’s ambient lightning, and the addition of a fingerprint ID sensor.

“The latest generation MacBook Pro is the fastest and most powerful notebook we’ve ever made,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

“Now with 8th-generation 6-core processors, up to 32GB of system memory, up to 4TB of super fast SSD storage, new True Tone technology in its Retina display and Touch Bar, the Apple T2 chip for enhanced security and a third-generation quieter keyboard packed into its thin and light aluminum design with all-day battery life, it’s the best notebook for pro users.”

Will this make Mac users happy?

While iPhones are Apple’s bread and butter by a longshot, MacBooks account for 80 percent of all the 100 million Mac computers out in the world.

MacBook users are a zealous bunch, but will the new models create lines around Apple stores waiting to get their hands on one?

Having “Siri” on board to answer users’ questions is likely to bring a smile. However, some Pro users might have to bite their tongue when it comes to the ports on the computers. MacBook Pros are devoid of HDMI and USB ports, and SD card slots which will probably frustrate those already equipped with those connections and sting a little more when they have to buy more dongles to recreate those connections.

The new True Tone technology is generating some buzz. With 500 nits of brightness (a nit is a unit of measurement of luminance), the new models are slightly brighter than an iPhone, but not as bright as, say, the newest TV screens. The new True Tone technology takes into account the color temperature of an environment and adjusts accordingly to created a more natural appearance.

While those enhancements might make some Mac aficionados happy, there are those who are unimpressed.

"I like the improvements to the new MacBooks, but they don’t fundamentally add any new black and white features prior Macs didn’t have," Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy told ConsumerAffairs. 

"What would have been most interesting would have been the addition of touch screen or even LTE for a fully mobile experience," he added. "These features are reserved for the iPad Pro, which is more strategic to Apple than the Macs."

About that keyboard

It was only last month when ConsumerAffairs reported that Apple had fessed up to issues with MacBook keyboards, offering free service to repair the issue on customers’ devices.

Apple seems to have taken great strides to make sure those issues don’t rear their ugly heads again. On the new MacBook Pro keyboards, iFixit discovered that Apple has built a silicone barrier under each key.

While the silicone muffles some of the clicking sound when a key is pressed, “This flexible enclosure is quite obviously an ingress-proofing measure to cover up the mechanism from the daily onslaught of microscopic dust. Not—to our eyes—a silencing measure,” reported iFixIt.

“In fact, Apple has a patent for this exact tech designed to “prevent and/or alleviate contaminant ingress.” but may also prevent dust and debris from getting underneath the keys and blocking the key mechanism.”

And the battery issues?

In April, ConsumerAffairs reported that a component in some of the 13-inch MacBook Pro laptops might fail and cause the computer’s built-in battery to expand. At the time of the finding, the company said that this was not a safety issue and offered to replace any affected batteries free of charge.

ConsumerAffairs reached out to Apple to find out if any improvements to the MacBook batteries were made in the new models, but as of press time, has not received a response.

Looking for a deal?

Along with the two new MacBook models, Apple is also offering a Back to School discount to students, parents, and teachers that includes a pair of Beats headphones and education pricing.

The FBI has arrested a former engineer at Apple on charges of stealing company secrets on behalf of a Chinese start up.

A complaint, filed in federal district court in California, says Xiaolang Zhang, who worked on Apple's autonomous car project for two and a half years, was taken into custody over the weekend as he attempted to board a plane for China.

The complaint charges that Zhang downloaded proprietary data before resigning in May, telling Apple he was returning to China to care for a family member. At the same time, he disclosed to his former employer that he planned to take a job with Xiaopeng Motors, a new electric car company affiliated with Alibaba, China's counterpart to Amazon.

“Apple takes confidentiality and the protection of our intellectual property very seriously,” the company said in a statement.

Downloading sensitive information

Apple said it is cooperating with federal prosecutors and will do all it can to make sure anyone found guilty of stealing trade secrets is held accountable for their actions. The company said Zhang's job at the company involved designing and testing circuit boards for Apple's autonomous car project.

The complaint notes that Apple became suspicious after Zhang told his superiors about his plans. When he appeared evasive during questioning, the complaint says, he was asked to turn over his work-related electronic devices.

The company says a forensic examination revealed that Zhang's network activity surged in the days before his resignation, including “bulk searches and targeted downloading copious pages of information.”

Surprise revelation

While the incident may play into the current hot topic of the trade war, and the Trump administration's charge that China routinely steals intellectual property from U.S. firms, CNBC said it found an even more significant take away.

The business news network said that buried deep within the complaint is the fact that more than 5,000 Apple employees are currently working on the company's autonomous vehicle project, many more than previously thought.

The complaint reveals that about 3.7 percent of Apple's 135,000 employees are working on the top secret project. That suggests Apple's autonomous car project is much larger than first thought.

Earlier this year, when tech site ZDNet ranked the top autonomous car projects, it placed General Motors at the top of the list, followed by Waymo. Apple did not crack the top 10.

On the day of its official release, technology security gurus are raising a red flag over Apple’s new security feature, USB Restricted Mode.

The feature was designed to shield iPhone users against passcode-cracking devices used by law enforcement, essentially immobilizing any attempts at accessing the device after it’s been in locked mode for an hour.

Computer security forensics firm ElcomSoft has found a $39 device -- one Apple sells on its on website -- that runs contrary to Apple’s instructions, fooling the restricted mode and giving access to anyone using the device.

“What we discovered is that iOS will reset the USB Restrictive Mode countdown timer even if one connects the iPhone to an untrusted USB accessory, one that has never been paired to the iPhone before (well, in fact the accessories do not require pairing at all),” wrote ElcomSoft’s Oleg Afonin in a blog post.

“In other words, once the police officer seizes an iPhone, he or she would need to immediately connect that iPhone to a compatible USB accessory to prevent USB Restricted Mode lock after one hour. Importantly, this only helps if the iPhone has still not entered USB Restricted Mode,” Afonin commented.

Making sure its research is as inclusive and objective as possible, ElcomSoft says it plans to test as many USB adapters as possible and found that one, the Apple Lightning to 3.5mm jack adapter ($9), does not work to defeat USB restrictions.

The reaction

The Twittersphere was bristling with news of the workaround with tech watchers like Mashable agreeing that Apple’s new security feature was “painfully easy to hack.” Another site tweeted a step-by-step on how to trick the feature.

Needless to say, the issue raises a number of questions.

Why is Apple’s USB Restricted so easily fooled? Can Apple patch its own security hole? The answers are uncertain, but critics are making it clear that Apple has an issue with its Lightning communication protocol.

“The ability to postpone USB Restricted Mode by connecting the iPhone to an untrusted USB accessory is probably nothing more than an oversight,” summed up Afonin.

“We don’t know if this behavior is here to stay, or if Apple will change it in near future. According to our tests, both iOS 11.4.1 and iOS 12 beta 2 exhibit similar behavior; however, this can change in subsequent versions of iOS.”

In a statement to ConsumerAffairs, Vladimir Katalov -- CEO, co-owner, and co-founder of ElcomSoft -- added that a small adjustment on Apple's part could go a long way towards making some consumers more comfortable.

"What we want to see is more granular control over what can and what cannot trigger the USB Restricted Mode. There are people who'd prefer unlocking their phones every time someone connects an accessory to the Lightning port instead of being subjected to the flawed restrictions. Apple already took care of the people who don’t want the new feature, so we’d like to see some love for those of us who just can’t have too much security," he said.

Samsung and Apple have decided to lay down their weapons, send the lawyers home, and call it a day in their contentious 7-year battle over five design patents relating to the look of the exterior of Apple’s iPhone, software icons, and other features.

Terms of the settlement have not yet been disclosed.

News of the settlement came out of the blue and only a month after Apple won damages of $539 million in a retrial of the case. That second trial turned out to be a bad news for Samsung since it had already paid Apple $399 million; asking for a retrial cost the company another $140 million.

The backstory of the battle

In the midst of Apple’s first volley in the lawsuit, then-President Steve Jobs' reaction to the 2010 unveiling of Samsung’s smartphone was fury -- calling it "a great theft," according to Jobs’ biographer Walter Isaacson.

"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong... I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this," Jobs reportedly threatened after seeing Samsung’s announcement.

Samsung was determined not to go down without a fight either, going as far as filing a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 to hear the case. Even though the Court hadn’t heard a design patent case in more than 120 years, Samsung pleaded "for a modern interpretation of the law to protect innovation, competition, and business of all sizes in the U.S."

Samsung’s biggest beef was over how damages had been awarded in the past in similar cases. Before this skirmish, damages had been based on an infringing phone’s entire profit.

"Samsung believes that awarding the total profit on an entire product for a single design patent on a small portion of the product protects and compensates design patent holders well beyond any inventive contribution of the design to the product," wrote Samsung at the time of the filing. "Such unjustified windfalls could hamper the progress of science, which the U.S. patent system was originally created to protect."

"When design patent law was created, products were much simpler; a design patent covered things like the handle of a spoon or a carpet pattern, which may have driven a purchase decision. Today, a cell phone can use 250,000 design and utility patents. Based on the current legal precedent, if just one of the design patents is infringed, the patent owner can obtain all of the product’s profit. Samsung believes this devalues the contributions of the hundreds of thousands of other patents, encourages form over function, allows for excessive awards and can enable a wave of opportunistic lawsuits," reasoned Samsung.

The Court agreed with Samsung’s logic, but sent it to a lower court to figure out how to more fairly compensate Apple. That’s where a jury awarded Apple with $539 million.

Apple has unveiled a new 2018 Midterm Elections section in Apple News, which gives U.S. readers access to important political content through November.

The news section will offer coverage from Fox News, Vox, and other selected outlets, along with special exclusives like The Washington Post's Election Now dashboard, a weekly briefing from Axios, and Politico's Races to Watch.

Apple says the goal of the section isn’t to censor politics, but to present consumers with a selection of top stories from trustworthy sources.

“Today more than ever people want information from reliable sources, especially when it comes to making voting decisions,” said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News. “An election is not just a contest; it should raise conversations and spark national discourse.”

“By presenting quality news from trustworthy sources and curating a diverse range of opinions, Apple News aims to be a responsible steward of those conversations and help readers understand the candidates and the issues.”

Combating false news

Apple isn’t the first tech giant to implement efforts to fight false news in the wake of the 2016 election and ahead of the November elections. Facebook, Twitter, and Google have also taken steps to stem the spread of misinformation on the web.

Facebook recently announced that it is expanding the scale and scope of its third-party fact-checking program, which relies on a combination of technology and human editors to make news from less reliable sources less visible. The company also announced that it would begin fact-checking photos and videos in addition to text.

In March, Google launched a new effort called Google News Initiative, which aims to combat the spread of misinformation during elections and breaking news moments. Google said it was working with Harvard University’s fact-checking organization First Draft for the program, which identifies inaccurate news stories and removes them from Google News rankings.

Twitter announced earlier this year that it would notify nearly 678,000 users that may have inadvertently interacted with now-suspended accounts believed to have been linked to a Russian propaganda service called the Internet Research Agency (IRA).

Apple’s news section for the 2018 Midterm Elections is now available to U.S. readers and will remain up through the elections in November.

Apple is banning any and all cryptocurrency mining on the company’s products, including iPhones and Macbooks, and is taking that stand in no uncertain terms. The goal, according to the company, is to preserve battery life and avoid "unnecessary strain on device resources."

Earlier this year, ConsumerAffairs reported how much of an energy hog cryptocurrency Bitcoin is, reporting that it uses as much energy as the entire country of Ireland.

The new rule is part of Apple’s latest App Store developer guidelines and represents a swift response to deceitful programmers who tried to pad unconnected ads and apps with software that mines cryptocurrency.

The ban is as black and white as any company could make it. In Apple’s updated policy, the "hardware compatibility" section drives home its mantra to all app developers:

"Design your app to use power efficiently. Apps should not rapidly drain battery, generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary strain on device resources. Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining."

Setting rules and standards

As many iPhone owners know, Apple’s iPhone batteries have had a rough go over the last six months.

Nonetheless, Apple left the door ajar for apps that deal with cryptocurrency above board and outside of Apple’s products and platforms. The company’s new policy clearly defines what it does -- and does not -- find acceptable:

• Wallets: Apps may facilitate virtual currency storage, provided they are offered by developers enrolled as an organization.

• Mining: Apps may not mine for cryptocurrencies unless the processing is performed off device (e.g. cloud-based mining).

• Exchanges: Apps may facilitate transactions or transmissions of cryptocurrency on an approved exchange, provided they are offered by the exchange itself.

• Initial Coin Offerings: Apps facilitating Initial Coin Offerings ("ICOs"), cryptocurrency futures trading, and other crypto-securities or quasi-securities trading must come from established banks, securities firms, futures commission merchants ("FCM"), or other approved financial institutions and must comply with all applicable law.

• Restricting incentives: Cryptocurrency apps may not offer currency for completing tasks, such as downloading other apps, encouraging other users to download, posting to social networks, etc.

The app that pushed Apple over the edge is reported to be Qbix’ "Calendar 2" (also known as "Calendar 2: The Scheduling"), an app that mined a virtual currency called Monero in the background on users’ Apple products. Apple yanked the app from the App Store but gave it a reprieve after Qbix removed the mining feature from the software.

Not a one-time incident

While it’s not exactly clear how many apps on Apple’s App store contain cryptomining features, experts say they have found several -- all of which can be problematic to users.

"Market leaders Bitcoin and to a lesser extent Ethereum require powerful and expensive specialized hardware to mine profitably,” explained cryptojacking watcher Jordan Pearson. “The CPUs found in iPhones and the generally weak GPUs that ship with most Macs, on the other hand, can really only feasibly mine coins like Monero and other lesser-known offerings."

Last year, computer security software company Avast found an app on the Google Play store passing itself off as the "Cooee" game that also mined the Monero cryptocurrency.  

"As with many malicious trends, the cybercriminals have quickly moved from PC to mobile," wrote Avast upon discovering the rogue app. "It’s important to understand that mining cryptocurrency is actually a legit business. Since mining cryptocurrencies is expensive, miners are resorting to abusing the processing power of other devices and are spreading mining programs through apps and websites."

It’s unknown whether other manufacturers and platforms will follow Apple’s decision on cryptocurrency-mining apps. Earlier this year, Facebook, Google, and Twitter closed the door on any advertising for initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency wallets, and some cryptocurrency exchanges.

A new lawsuit alleges that every generation of the Apple watch has a defect that results in the screens cracking, shattering, or detaching through no fault of the wearer, Patently Apple reports.

The suit, filed in California, contends that the company knew about the defect and tried to conceal it from consumers. The suit seeks $5 million in damages.

"Apple knew that the Watches were defective at or before the time it began selling them to the public," the complaint said. "Furthermore, consumers complained to Apple about the Defect almost immediately after Apple released the Series 0, Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Watches."

“Apple has actively concealed and failed to disclose the Defect to Plaintiff and Class members prior to, at, or after the time of purchase,” the complaint continued.

Plaintiff Kenneth Sciacca’s lawsuit claims the defect can begin to surface within days or weeks after the Apple Watch is purchased.

Consumer complaints common

Although complaints about screen problems on Apple Watches are common on Apple forums and in Apple’s stores, the company has persistently denied “any widespread issue” with Apple Watches, the lawsuit notes.

However, in April 2017, Apple announced warranty extension plans for certain versions of the Watch suffering from a swelling battery defect that caused some wearers’ screens to pop out.

When confronted with complaints of screen problems, Apple’s internal policy is to deny the existence of the defect and blame the user for “accidental damage,” then refuse to honor warranty coverage, the complaint claims.

The lawsuit alleges violations of both state and federal law and requests a jury trial and class certification. The suit follows another class action filed against Apple regarding the butterfly keyboard used in the MacBook Pro.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose is a forum for the company to showcase its latest strides in technological advances, as well as show consumers what’s to come from the tech giant. The conference opened yesterday, and Apple is showing its commitment to customers’ privacy right out of the gate.

At last year’s conference, Apple introduced Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), a desktop Safari feature that monitors how often users visit certain sites; if a website isn’t visited for 30 days, Safari will automatically purge the cookies.

This year, Apple is building off of this software in an attempt to become a leader in the arena of consumer privacy. The company’s next rollout of updates will allow consumers to block Facebook, Google, and other platforms from tracking them across different websites based off of “likes” or “shares.”

“We’ve all seen these like buttons and share buttons,” said Apple software VP Craig Federighi. “Well it turns out, these can be used to track you, whether you click on them or not. So this year, we’re shutting that down.”

At the conference, Federighi demonstrated how the newest updates to Safari will show a pop-up window that asks users whether or not they want to allow a plugin to track their browsing. It will also have a feature that counters browser fingerprinting techniques that track users from site to site, which happens even when users clear their cookies.

“Data companies are clever and relentless,” he said. “It turns out that when you browse the web, your device can be recognized by a unique set of characteristics like its configuration, its fonts you have installed, and the plugins you might have installed on a device.”

Apple’s stance on privacy

Apple’s initiatives to protect its customers line up with many of its past actions. Back in 2010, then-CEO Steve Jobs said that his company “always had a very different view of privacy than some of [its] colleagues in the Valley.”

“Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for, in plain English and repeatedly,” Jobs said. “I believe people are smart and some people want to share more data than other people do. Ask them. Ask them every time. Let them know precisely what you’re going to do with their data.”

In the eight years since then, Apple hasn’t changed its tune.

“I think that the privacy thing has gotten totally out of control and I think most people are not aware of who is tracking them, how much they’re being tracked, and the large amounts of detailed data that are out there about them,” said current CEO Tim Cook. “We think privacy is a fundamental human right.”

Facebook strikes back

While Apple’s latest move may protect users from many different online platforms that may be loose with their data, Facebook didn’t take to Apple’s announcement too kindly.

The social media giant took a huge hit earlier this year following a scandal that left over 87 million users’ data repurposed by Cambridge Analytica. Though CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent a great deal of time answering questions from Congress and promised that his company is recommitting itself to stricter privacy regulations, Facebook continues to be a target due to what critics say are rather lenient privacy settings.

Following Apple’s announcement, Facebook’s chief security officer Alex Stamos took to Twitter to question whether Apple was really committed to protecting privacy or the move was “just cute virtue signaling.”

Facebook continues to take heat over revelations about its data privacy practices. Just before Apple’s announcement, the New York Times reported that Facebook’s data-sharing partnerships with various phone and device developers was going strong -- despite the company’s claim that they ended these data sharing practices in 2015.

“It’s like having door locks installed, only to find out that the locksmith also gave keys to all of his friends so they can come in and rifle through your stuff without having to ask you for permission,” said former FTC chief technologist Ashkan Soltani.

After facing much scrutiny from its shareholders for the addictive quality of its devices, Apple announced that it will be releasing software that helps iPhone users monitor how much time they spend on their devices.

The company opened its Worldwide Developers Conference today in San Jose, and while its typical for the tech giant to discuss the countless ways its devices are becoming even more intuitive to its users’ needs, with this latest upgrade, Apple is doing the exact opposite. This year, Apple is making a point to show consumers how to use their devices less.

“We need to have tools and data to allow us to understand how we consume digital media,” said Tony Faddell, a former senior Apple executive who worked on the original iPhone and iPad. “We need to get finer-grain language and start to understand that an iPhone is just a refrigerator, it’s not the addiction.”

Engineers at Apple have been working on Digital Health, a new initiative that will help users monitor how much time they spend on their devices and also give a breakdown on time spent on each individual app. These tools will be bundled into a menu inside the Settings app in iOS 12 -- the likely name of Apple’s newest operating system.

The surge in tech addiction

The decision to inform users of their (potentially) excessive gadget use comes after Apple faced a high amount of criticism from shareholders on the addictive quality of the company’s devices.

In early January, Jane Partners LLC and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System -- two investors that hold $1 billion in stocks between them -- urged the company to develop software that limits how long children can use its smartphones. The investors wrote a letter to the company, pointing to studies that show excessive phone use can cause sleep deprivation, disrupt lessons, and harm students’ ability to concentrate on school work.

“According to [an] APA survey, 94 percent of parents have taken some action to manage their child’s technology use, but it is both unrealistic and a poor long-term business strategy to ask parents to fight this battle alone,” the investors wrote in the letter. “Imagine the goodwill Apple can generate with parents by partnering with them in this effort and with the next generation of customers by offering their parents more options to protect their health and well-being.”

Back in 2016, a survey by Common Sense Media reported that half of U.S. teenagers believe they are addicted to their phones. Respondents said they often felt pressure to respond to text messages immediately.

However, Apple is now committed to helping users who struggle to get offline. The new Digital Health software will allow consumers to cap the time they spend on their phones or on certain apps.

Other updates out of Apple

In addition to Digital Health, Apple is expected to make other announcements that may want to make users pick up their phones even more. The company is working on unveiling updates to its augmented reality (AR) software with new tools for the iPhone and iPad.

“We’re already seeing things that will transform the way you work, play, connect, and learn,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Put simply, we believe AR is going to change the way we use technology forever.”

A federal court jury, deliberating in a long-running patent dispute, has ruled that Samsung must write Apple a very large check.

When he introduced the iPhone in 2007, the late Steve Jobs made a point of saying Apple had been careful to cover its new product with patents. Jobs, the co-founder and CEO of Apple, was reportedly furious when the market was soon flooded with competing smartphones using Google's Android operating system.

In particular, he accused Samsung of ripping off the iPhone's design and features. The two companies have been in court ever since.

The California jury determined that Samsung owes Apple $539 million for infringing upon five company patents. Most of the damage award covers three Apple patents for the iPhone design. The rest of the award covers two utility patents.

Awards damage increases from $399 million

The verdict came in a retrial that Samsung had lost, which required it to pay Apple $399 million. The jury hearing the most recent case increased the damages.

“Today’s decision flies in the face of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in favor of Samsung on the scope of design patent damages,” Samsung said in a statement. “We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers.”

In that 2016 case, the court ruled that damages from patent infringement should be based on the portion of the device that infringed on the patents, not the profit from the entire device, as Apple had argued.

But Samsung has not always been victorious over Apple when the two have ended up before the Supreme Court. Last year, the high court declined to hear Samsung's appeal of a 2014 lower court ruling which had found that it infringed on some Apple design patents.

According to technology publisher CNET, the latest jury verdict cements the importance of smartphone design.

Apple announced today that it is refunding $50 to consumers who paid for an out-of-warranty battery replacement for an iPhone 6 or later model any time last year.

The $50 credit is part of Apple’s $29 battery replacement program, which went into effect in December 2017.

Apple started offering lower-cost battery replacement options to consumers after it confirmed that software updates in older iPhone models had a feature that throttled battery performance in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company faced dozens of lawsuits as a result of the feature.

Following its admission and apology for its lack of transparency surrounding the issue, Apple said it would slash the price of replacement batteries for iPhone 6 models or later from $79 to $29. Apple later sped up its battery replacement program due to customer complaints.

Now, Apple says it will reimburse all customers who paid the full $79 to replace an out-of-warranty battery before December 29. The offer applies to customers who had their battery replacement done at an Apple store, Apple Repair Center, or an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Eligible consumers will be notified via email before July 27 with details on how to obtain an electronic funds transfer or a credit on the card that was used to pay for the battery replacement.

Apple and Goldman Sachs are reportedly working together to develop a new credit card product, which could be introduced as early as next year.

The card would be branded with Apple Pay, the tech giant’s digital payment service, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with familiar with the matter.

The deal would help extend Apple’s payment brand, as well as help the company make money from products other than iPhones and other gadgets.

The joint venture will also benefit Goldman Sachs by helping the financial institution enter the consumer finance business, which it has been trying to do for some time. Goldman Sachs has been seeking to branch out from investment banking and trading to everyday consumer banking activities, such as deposit-taking and personal loans.

Apple currently has a credit card with London-based Barclays, which Goldman will replace. The Barclays card offers interest-free financing on Apple product purchases. However, Apple makes only 0.15 percent per transaction. Goldman Sachs could more than double that percentage, according to the Journal.

The partnership could also include Goldman offering in-store loans to Apple customers for the tech company's products, the report said.

Consumers may have an easier time getting a battery replacement for their aging iPhone. Apple has reportedly confirmed that "service inventory of all iPhone replacement batteries is now available without delay," according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors.

In late 2017, Apple was accused of intentionally slowing down older iPhone models to preserve battery life and prevent unexpected shutdowns. The company’s brand was negatively impacted by its lack of transparency regarding the issue and dozens of class action lawsuits followed.

In an effort to make amends, the company decided to be more transparent about its actions and how its batteries age. It also began offering a new, discounted replacement battery that could help resolve the issue.

No more delays

Some customers encountered long wait times of up to several weeks due to short supply of the $29 replacement batteries.

Apple previously said delays would likely be an issue, given the demand for the discounted batteries. It said replacements for select iPhone models could be delayed until late March or early April.

However, delays are less likely now. Apple has confirmed that all Apple stores and service providers can order the replacement batteries and get them without delay from supply constraints. Apple's support website still notes that the replacement process may take up to five business days for iPhones to be serviced and returned.

Battery health

Apple maintains that it never intentionally did anything to shorten the life of a user’s Apple product or “degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.”

"About a year ago, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on certain iPhones with older batteries,” the company explained in a previous statement.

“We know that iPhones have become an important part of the daily lives of our customers and our intention was to improve the customer experience.”

Apple said its actions to resolve the issue, including dropping the cost of out-of-warranty battery replacements from $79 to $29 and developing a new feature to show battery health, “were taken to further assist our customers and help extend the life of their iPhones.”

iPhone users who download iOS 11.3 or later can see how much the original battery has degraded over time by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health (Beta). A reading of 80 percent or below means it may be time to replace the battery, according to Apple.

Apple has acknowledged that some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices running the latest iOS 11.3 software may have microphone issues.

In a leaked internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple warns Authorized Service Providers that iOS 11.3 and iOS 11.3.1 have rendered some phones unable to use their microphones during phone calls, preventing users from being heard during calls or FaceTime video chats.

Affected customers may experience a grayed-out speaker button during calls, the memo said.

Service providers have been told to ask users to disconnect any Bluetooth headset or other audio accessory connected to their devices to see if that fixes the issue. If the issue persists, service providers should run an audio diagnostic on the device.

Initiating a repair

“Affected devices will display a ‘device could not detect dock’ or ‘accessory not supported’ alert in the diagnostic panel, in which case the service provider can initiate a repair for the iPhone,” MacRumors said.

The memo added that in the event an affected iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus is out of warranty, the service provider can request an exception for this issue. However, it is not clear if the repair will be free.

There have been several documented cases of Apple users complaining about microphone problems after downloading iOS 11.3 or later, but the issue isn’t widespread. A source told AppleInsider that it's an "extremely rare problem, with a need for repair being rarer still."

If consumers do encounter this issue, they can schedule specific appointments with Apple Authorized Service Providers via the Contact Apple Support page by following these categories: iPhone > Repairs & Physical Damage > Unable to Hear Through Receiver or Speakers > Built-in Speaker > Bring In For Repair.

William Monzidelis is alive today because he was wearing an Apple Watch. At least, that's what his doctors say.

A report by Apple Insider tells the story. The 32 year-old man was at work last month when he began to feel dizzy. He was bleeding internally but had no idea until his Apple Watch showed his heart rate had surged and sent an alert, telling him to seek medical attention.

Monzidelis' stomach ulcer had erupted, causing him to lose 80 percent of his blood by the time he got to a hospital. Doctors credited the device, purchased most often as a fitness monitor, with saving Monzidelis' life.

"I would have been working in my office and they would have found me dead," he told Apple Insider.

Story isn't unique

It turns out Monizidelis' story isn't unique. In 2017, 49 year-old attorney Scott Killian thought he was in perfect health. In fact, he had just completed a series of expensive tests to measure his heart health.

Then in the middle of the night, his Apple Watch woke him with an alert from a third party app called HeartWatch. It warned him his heart rate had surged, suggesting he could be suffering a heart attack.

Killian told 9to5 Mac his watch picked up an issue that $10,000 worth of medical tests did not. Killian's doctor said the device probably saved his life.

“He said had I kept sleeping, I probably wouldn’t have woken up,” Killian said. “I would have died in my sleep.”

More common than you think

If you Google “Apple Watch” and “lifesaver” you'll find these kinds of stories are more common than you might think. Back in 2015, the tech publication SlashGear reported the Apple Watch saved a teen's life when his device warned him his heart rate had reached dangerous levels while he was in class.

Instead of ignoring the warning, he notified the school nurse, who sent him to the hospital, where doctors confirmed a diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis, a syndrome that is caused by muscle injury, where the protein myoglobin is released into the blood, causing the liver, heart, and kidneys to shut down.

Healthcare professionals have shown increasing interest in wearable devices' ability to provide critical health warnings. A recent Cleveland Clinic study looked at the Apple Watch's role in healthcare.

The study affirmed the technology's ability to accurately detect atrial fibrillation (AFib), a leading cause of stroke.

Apple has decided that a component in some of its 13-inch MacBook Pro laptops may fail and cause the computer’s built-in battery to expand. The company says this is not a safety issue and will replace the affected batteries free of charge.

If you have a 13-inch MacBook Pro built between October 2016 and October 2017, you can check to see if your computer is eligible for the repair by going to Apple’s Support page and typing in your unit’s serial number. Serial numbers on MacBooks can be found by going to the “About This Mac” section under the Apple Menu at the top left of your screen. At the bottom of that screen is where you’ll find the serial number.

The battery replacement program covers MacBook Pro models for 5 years after the unit was first purchased.

How the battery replacement procedure works

If your battery is affected by this recall, there are three ways to get it replaced.

1. Find an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

2. Make an appointment at an Apple Retail Store.

3. Mail in your device to the Apple Repair Center.

Once a computer’s eligibility is verified, repair time is estimated to be 3-5 days. Apple urges each MacBook owner to back up their data prior to bringing it in for repair.

The ifs, ands, or buts

Apple warns that if it finds there are existing, non-related issues that impair the battery replacement or have caused damage to the computer, customers may be responsible for costs associated with those repairs.

The company also says that having a battery replaced does not extend the computer’s standard warranty coverage.

For those who previously paid to have the battery replaced, Apple is offering a refund.

Batteries have been a thorn in the side of Apple recently. Earlier this year, Apple added a software update that tackled the battery issue surrounding accusations that it purposefully slowed down older iPhone models.

Apple announced on Monday that its entire global business is fueled by 100 percent clean energy. Everything that powers the company -- from its new Cupertino headquarters to stores and data facilities -- is certifiably renewable, fulfilling its 2016 commitment to becoming totally green.

“We’re committed to leaving the world better than we found it. After years of hard work we’re proud to have reached this significant milestone,” said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.

“We’re going to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the materials in our products, the way we recycle them, our facilities and our work with suppliers to establish new creative and forward-looking sources of renewable energy because we know the future depends on it.”

Producing clean energy

However, Apple's flag-waving should be viewed with an ounce of caution. While it says its energy is "100 percent renewable," a report from The Verge points out that the company "uses the term to signal that it buys enough green energy to offset its global power consumption."

This line of reasoning allows the company to meet its goals in areas of the world where relying on renewable energy isn't necessarily viable; for example, clean energy isn't readily available in areas like China where Apple operates overseas facilities.

Nonetheless, Apple’s efforts are worthy of being considered proactive in Mother Earth’s eyes. All in all, Apple has 25 operational renewable energy projects around the world, totaling 626 megawatts of generation capacity, with 286 megawatts of solar PV generation coming online in 2017, its most ever in one year. It also has 15 more projects underway.

Once everything is in place, more than 1.4 gigawatts of clean renewable energy generation will be dispersed across 11 countries.

Good for both business and communities

Over the course of the next five years, renewable energy is set to grow faster than any other power source. The International Energy Agency’s crystal ball sees a future where renewable energy will make up 40 percent of the world’s power by 2040 and, no doubt, Apple wants to be a leader in that metric.

At present, Apple ranks sixth on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Green Power Partnership National Top 100, behind Microsoft, Intel, Google, Kohl’s Department Stores, and Bank of America.

Others on that list include a variety of corporate green energy trailblazers ranging from the National Hockey League (NHL) to Netflix, IKEA, University of Tennessee (Knoxville), and the cities of Dallas, Austin, and Portland, Oregon.

Good for Apple’s bottom line, too

In 2016, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Apple the right to sell power it doesn’t need from renewable resources it owns or has under contract.

As part of its green energy plan, Apple is buying Renewable Energy Certificates -- tradable, non-tangible energy commodities -- that provide a mechanism for the purchase of renewable energy that is added to or pulled from the electrical grid.

Apple’s clean power investments also include wind and solar energy facilities, and the company is set on making sure all new facilities meet the clean energy mark. All in all, the company counts 25 renewable energy projects around the world.

Apple took a large bite out of Intel on Monday. The company announced that it will be making its own chips for its Mac computers by 2020, which sent Intel stock tumbling as much as 9.2 percent before finishing the trading day down 6 percent.

The plan, according to Bloomberg, is still in incubation, but Apple’s goal is to make the company’s entire array of devices -- including Macs, iPhones, and iPads -- work seamlessly with each other.

Codenamed “Kalamata,” the project will likely take several years and multiple steps to complete.

Breaking up is hard to do

This shift could be quite a sting for Intel, but it could mean more cash going in Apple’s own pockets.

The chipmaker has had a significant chunk of Apple’s business going back to 2007 and was paid $300 on average for each Intel chip Apple installed in one of its products. It’s estimated that 5 percent of Intel’s revenue stream -- more than $1 billion a year -- comes from the Apple money tree.

The move is probably also confusing to Intel. It’s a complete about face from Apple’s announcement in February to drop Qualcomm chips from iPhones and go exclusively with Intel chips.

Is this the start of a trend?

With device-to-device processor integration added on top of cost-savings, Apple would have extra flexibility in launching new products, and having control over its hardware should strengthen the security level of its products.

While a 5 percent hit to its revenue is something Intel can handle, the bigger question is will other manufacturers, a la Apple, take to building their own chipsets.

Bringing all component manufacturing in-house is uncharted waters for Apple. The company’s 2010 purchase of Intrinsity, a Texas-based semiconductor maker, seemed to signal a desire to wean itself off Intel. Lately, the company has sourced custom processors from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Samsung. It has also used ARM-based co-processors for special functions such as the Touch Bar and Power Nap features on MacBooks.

Still, making every single component may be a Herculean task. For example, Apple uses more than 20 different (and mostly foreign) manufacturers to build an iPhone. Those include Samsung for batteries, Toshiba for flash memory, and Sony for cameras.

Can this move mean more jobs?

If President Trump had his way, Apple would make everything in the U.S. In his 2016 presidential bid, Trump declared that “we’re going to get Apple to build its damn computers in this country instead of other countries.”

Carrying the torch of “very large tax cuts for corporations” in hand, Trump spoke directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook after the election and said he expected Apple to bring more manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Trump even went as far as saying that Cook had made clear-cut promises.

“I spoke to [Cook]. He's promised me three big plants - big, big, big... We're gonna get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country, instead of in other countries," Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last July.

Apple’s iOS 11.3 update has been released to the public, which means iPhone users who download the latest software now have access to a new Health Records feature.

The new feature lets iPhone users at more than 100 hospitals and clinics across the country access parts of their medical records through the Health app, Apple announced.

It was first unveiled in a beta version back in January, and Thursday’s update makes it available to all users who update their phone’s software to the latest version.

“The new Health Records feature brings together hospitals, clinics, and the existing Health app to make it easy for consumers to see their available medical data from multiple providers, whenever they choose,” Apple previously said.

Easily accessible medical records

By giving patients the ability to retrieve their medical records right from their iPhone or iPad, Apple hopes to give users more control over their health history.

With greater control comes a better understanding of health history, which can set the stage for patients to have informed conversations with physicians and family members about future medical decisions.

“Patients from participating medical institutions will have information from various institutions organized into one view and receive regular notifications for their lab results, medications, conditions and more,” the company said.

Health Records data is encrypted and protected with the user's iPhone passcode.

The medical information will be available to iPhone users who are patients at 39 health systems that are working with Apple, including Stanford Medicine and Johns Hopkins. Previously, the medical records section of the app was only available to users who had signed up to test a pre-release version.

Participating health groups

Apple said the following health systems, by region, have enabled the feature:

• Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. Providers AtlantiCare, Geisinger Health System, Johns Hopkins Medicine, LifeBridge Health, NYU Langone Health, Partners HealthCare, Penn Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc., Valley Medical Group P.C., plus the combined Yale New Haven Health and Yale Medicine.

• Midwest. Cerner Health Clinic, CoxHealth, Mosaic Life Care, Nebraska Methodist Health System, OhioHealth, Rush University Medical Center, Southwest General Health Center, Truman Medical Centers, and The University of Chicago Medicine.

• South. Adventist Health System, BayCare Health System, Duke University Health System, MedStar Health, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Mission Health, Ochsner Health System, Ortho Virginia, TSAOG Orthopaedics, UNC Health Care, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and WVU Medicine.

• Western U.S. Cedars-Sinai, Dignity Health, Eisenhower Health, Providence St. Joseph Health, Scripps Health, Stanford Medicine, UC San Diego Health, UC Irvine Health.

Apple has reportedly been hit with numerous lawsuits following its admission that it deliberately slowed aging iPhones to preserve battery life.

At least 59 separate lawsuits have been filed by iPhone customers since December, when news of the software update that slowed older iPhones first broke, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Apple customers have accused the company of slowing their phones in order to drive sales of new iPhones, according to court records.  

Those who filed claims are seeking an unspecified financial award, attorneys’ fees, and free iPhone battery replacements, as well as a corrective advertising campaign. A legal meeting in Atlanta tomorrow aims to combine all the U.S. cases into one class-action lawsuit.

Negative impact on the brand

Apple has maintained that slowing down the batteries in older iPhones keeps them from automatically shutting down during certain high-speed tasks. However, iPhone customers who filed lawsuits claim the practice is used to encourage people to shell out more money for a newer iPhone model.

Wayne Lam, a smartphone analyst with the research firm IHS Markit, believes the class-action suit “won’t amount to a hill of beans.” Experts say it’s more likely that the lawsuit will damage Apple’s brand, which could lead to even bigger problems for the company.

“It’s the brand damage that is even more risky and expensive for Apple,” said Holger Mueller, a technology analyst with Constellation Research.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Apple over potential securities violations related to the way it informed consumers about the update that slowed older iPhones.

At the annual China Development Forum in Beijing on Saturday, Apple CEO Tim Cook called for stronger data privacy regulations to prevent “dire” situations like the leak of Facebook user information from happening again.

Last week, news surfaced that Facebook let Cambridge Analytica harvest data on 50 million users without their consent in an effort to target messages to voters during the 2016 presidential election.

To protect users’ data, Cook said tech companies need "well-crafted" data privacy regulations.

Change needed

“I think that this certain situation is so dire and has become so large that probably some well-crafted regulation is necessary,” Cook said. “The ability of anyone to know what you’ve been browsing about for years, who your contacts are, who their contacts are, things you like and dislike and every intimate detail of your life -- from my own point of view it shouldn’t exist.”

Cook said Apple has worried for years that something like the recent Facebook data leak might happen. "Unfortunately that prediction has come true more than once," he said.

“We’ve worried for a number of years that people in many countries were giving up data probably without knowing fully what they were doing and that these detailed profiles that were being built of them, that one day something would occur and people would be incredibly offended by what had been done without them being aware of it,” he said.

Curbing “platform power”

Cook isn’t the first to suggest that tech companies need to be better regulated. Earlier this month, internet creator Tim Berners-Lee commemorated the 29th birthday of the internet with an open letter. In the letter, he urged for more regulation of big tech platforms.

“Platform power” has made it possible for people to “weaponize the web at scale,” he said.

“In recent years, we’ve seen conspiracy theories trend on social media platforms, fake Twitter and Facebook accounts stoke social tensions, external actors interfere in elections, and criminals steal troves of personal data,” he writes.

To help solve the problem, Berners-Lee called for socially-minded regulation.

"A legal or regulatory framework that accounts for social objectives may help ease...tensions," he wrote. "Today’s powerful digital economy calls for strong standards that balance the interests of both companies and online citizens."

While Qualcomm’s chip relationship with the iPhone goes back to 2011, Apple started splitting its baseband chip orders with Intel and Qualcomm when the iPhone 7 was released in 2016.

However, reports are now circulating that Apple may switch from Qualcomm-based chips to Intel ones altogether. Some Apple watchers consider this a big gamble because of differences in performance. In tests performed by Cellular Insights, the iPhone 7 Plus using the Qualcomm modem “had a significant performance edge over the iPhone 7 Plus with the Intel modem.”

While Apple never disclosed its reasons for limiting the Qualcomm modem on the iPhone 7, those familiar with the situation feel it was an effort to level the performance playing field between the Verizon/Sprint and the AT&T/T-Mobile versions of the phone. Now, with only one supplier, the iPhone’s performance might be slower with the Intel chip, but at least it should be consistent and without any speed comparisons like it faced when Qualcomm was a co-supplier.

What’s the real backstory on why Apple is changing chip makers?

Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in a legal spitting match for more than a year, according to several reports. The squabbles started when Qualcomm accused Apple of sharing its proprietary code with Intel. At the same time, Apple alleged that Qualcomm overcharged for chips and refused to pay the tech giant promised rebates.

Qualcomm sits on a treasure trove of patents -- more than 130,000 of them -- and they’re the kinds of things that make phones run. If you want to manufacture a phone that has the ability to send and receive data or one capable of a high-speed internet connection, you more than likely have to get a license from Qualcomm.

However, to get that license, the company charged Apple as much as a 5 percent royalty on the average selling price of its phones. That means Apple handed over as much as $40 to Qualcomm on an $800 iPhone.

Apple got tired of paying a royalty it considered unfair and asked Qualcomm to give them a break on standard-essential patents. When things didn’t go Apple’s way, the company decided to wage war and Qualcomm retaliated in kind. Patent validity, anti-trust, vindictive marketing campaigns -- no threat was left off the table.

Apple sued Qualcomm for a billion dollars in the U.S., plus another $145 million in China. The company even raised the bar another couple of notches with 20 filings in federal court alleging that there was “mounting evidence of Qualcomm’s perpetuation of an illegal business model that burdens innovation.”

It may not be a great time for Qualcomm to be bullish

To make matters worse, four global regulators have fined Qualcomm in the last three years. In the latest instance in January, the European Commission slapped the company with a $1.23 billion fine and said its practices prevented competitors, such as Intel, from supplying 4G LTE radios to Apple for five years.

The immediate impact of Apple’s supposed shift from Qualcomm to Intel was felt by all three players at the close of business on Monday. Intel shares were down 3.53 percent; Apple shares were down 2.5 percent; and Qualcomm shares fell by 6.57 percent.

Reuters also reports that rival Broadcom Ltd made a $121 billion “best and final offer” to acquire Qualcomm Inc, raising further questions about the company’s ability to see its way clear from all its entanglements.

“Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone,” Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said on January 9, 2007.

In a presentation to the Apple faithful, Jobs proceeded to introduce a new mobile phone that not only turned an industry upside down, but changed how human beings interact with one another.

In the 10 years since Apple's introduction of the iPhone, smartphones have been used less for talking and more for communicating on social media, buying things online, getting directions and watching TV. In other words, they have become computers in our pockets. Chances are, you're reading this on one.

It was a vision that Jobs, who died of cancer in 2011, laid out in the presentation below.

Exclusive to AT&T

Apple partnered with AT&T in the development of the iPhone and for several years, AT&T was the exclusive carrier for the device.

In his presentation Jobs mentioned that Apple had patented its revolutionary design, expressing confidence that the smartphone future belonged to Apple. But after Google's Android operating system appeared and was adopted by many electronics manufacturers, a protracted legal battle ensued. In the end, Apple found that it had to share the smartphone space.

According to Statista, there are approximately 215 million smartphone users in the U.S., with the number estimated to reach 222.9 million this year. The number of users worldwide is projected to reach 2 billion by the end of this year.

Samsung’s Note7 debacle has truly shaken the mobile division of the company, along with its customers’ confidence. While the South Korean company will be scrambling for some time to mitigate the damage, competitors like Apple are likely to enjoy a bit of a boom.

But how much should the tech company expect to gain from the situation? According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, quite a lot. The expert says that Apple will likely gain 5-7 million customers because of Samsung’s phone disaster. Kuo says that many disenchanted Note7 owners will make the leap to the iPhone 7 Plus because of the device’s dual camera, which will be a big drawing point.

The analyst arrived at the prediction after examining sales of the Note7. Before reports surfaced about their tendency to catch on fire, Samsung’s device was a hot commodity; around 12 million of the devices were originally sold.

Half may defect

Kuo says around 50% of those customers are likely to choose an Apple device as a replacement, while the other 50% of customers will consider devices sold by Android manufacturers Huawei and Google, which recently released its new Pixel smartphone.

While Kuo’s prediction is only an educated guess, real numbers on Apple’s performance confirm that the company has been thriving as of late. The company’s stock has risen in recent weeks due to the Note7 issues, and fourth quarter projections look pretty favorable. Investors will be able to learn more when Apple releases its earnings report on October 25.

Meanwhile, Kuo predicts that the Note7 failure will only impact Samsung for a couple more months. However, if more of its devices continue to have technical problems, then its image may take a long-term hit. Customer complaints have flooded in over many the company’s other products recently, so it will likely be something the manufacturer will need to be careful of going forward.