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Apple considers adding another major OLED display-maker to its supply chain

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iPhone 12 might mix iPhone 11 and iPad Pro designs
Apple's going to need a lot more OLED displays.
Photo: Ben Geskin

China’s largest display maker is publicly confident it will meet Apple’s quality standards for its future needs of organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, displays and is preparing to possibly become another component provider.

A media report Tuesday gives further evidence Apple is expecting its needs for the state-of-the-art displays to grow beyond the supply of its current two providers.

In surprise to no one, virus hit January iPhone sales in China

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iPhone China locked
This iPhone in China is locked.
Photo: Kankanews

Sales of iPhones in China dropped 28 percent in the month of January as the deadly coronavirus began its rapid spread, according to new research.

February is likely to go on record as much worse. As the death toll from the virus rose, factories shut down, Apple closed all 42 of its China retail stores and the government doubled down on quarantines and travel restrictions.

Netatmo adds HomeKit Secure video support to its Smart indoor camera

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Netatmo adds support for Apple's HomeKit Secure Video standard to its Smart Indoor Camera.
Netatmo adds support for HomeKit Secure Video standard to its Smart Indoor Camera.
Photo: Netatmo

Smart home device-maker Netatmo added support Tuesday for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video standard to its Smart Indoor Camera.

The free and automatic update began rolling out today to users, according to an announcement by the French company. It should become available to install on all Netatmo Smart cameras over the next few days.

Apple plunged Facebook into chaos when it broke its internal apps, new book reveals

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Situation brought Facebook to a near-standstill for employees.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple triggered a “hot war” that compounded ongoing tensions with Facebook when it pulled the social media giant’s enterprise certificate last year. The decision, which temporarily broke all of Facebook’s internal apps, coincided almost exactly with Facebook’s earnings call.

“As [Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg] spoke [on the call], people on Facebook’s campus could not test new products and were canceling meetings because they could not get the shuttle,” writes author Steven Levy in his new book, Facebook: The Inside Story, which is published in hardcover today.

Disney+ is as cheap as Apple TV+ in the UK if you preorder today

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Disney-Plus
Who wouldn't want Disney+ at this price?
Photo: Disney

Disney+ is as affordable as Apple TV+ for subscribers in the United Kingdom if they preorder the service ahead of its debut next month. An annual subscription is available today for just £49.99 — £10 off the usual price.

That’s exactly the same price you’ll pay for a year of Apple TV+, but of course, Disney is offering you a lot more content.

Apple will sell ‘customer-installable’ wheel kit for latest Mac Pro

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2019-Mac-Pro-wheels
Only Apple can install the Mac Pro's wheels today.
Photo: Apple

Apple plans to sell a do-it-yourself wheel kit for its latest Mac Pro.

Only Apple or an Authorized Service Provider can add the wheels right now, which means you must take the machine in for service if you opted for feet when you first purchased it. A “customer-installable” kit is coming, though.

iPhone manufacturer offers perks to try and woo people back to work

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Foxconn Wisconsin
Foxconn is trying its best to get people back to work.
Photo: Foxconn

Apple manufacturer Foxconn is trying to woo people back to the iPhone production lines by offering new perks at its major assembly plants in Shenzhen and Chengzhou.

The company has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, which resulted in some factories being temporarily closed and only a fraction of employees returning to work when they were reopened. With iPhone orders to fill, Foxconn’s doing its best to make up for lost time.

Apple won’t testify at congressional hearing on tech industry ties in China

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
Tim Cook has spoken about China being Apple's future biggest market.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

Apple won’t attend a March congressional hearing about the tech industry’s relationships in China, the Washington Post reports.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley called the March 4 hearing. Hawley has raised concerns about tech companies’ reliance on and possible cozy relations with China.

Despite virus fears, over half of Apple retail stores reopen in China

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Some Apple Stores in China reopen despite coronavirus.
Some Apple Stores in China are cautiously reopening but with reduced hours because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Photo: Apple

Many Apple Stores across China are open again, despite the coronavirus that has shut down so much of the country.

The iPhone maker depends on China for a significant percentage of its sales, and Apple being able to reopen so many stores in the midst of this crisis is a positive sign.

New Huawei tablet adds features iPad owners can only dream about

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Huawei MatePad Pro is like an iPad Pro, but cheaper
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Huawei is outrageously flattering the iPad Pro.
Photo: Huawei

Huawei added cutting-edge features to its iPad Pro rival. A MatePad Pro update includes 5G built-in cellular-wireless networking. And it offers two-way wireless charging, so the tablet can send power to another device.

These features were added to a device clearly made to resemble Apple’s top-tier iPad.

Apple plans move to gigantic new Manhattan office

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Apple New York office building. Reportedly.
Apple is supposedly headed for some fancy new digs at Penn 11, across the street from Madison Square Garden.
Photo: Vornado Realty Trust

A certain phone maker is taking the phase “Big Apple” as a suggestion. Apple reportedly signed a lease for 220,000 square feet in a historic building in New York City. That’s far larger than the company’s current NYC office.

But this won’t become an enormous Apple Store. This is office space.

App Store Confidential author ‘surprised’ by Apple’s attempt to halt book

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Apple's not happy about former Apple employee Tom Sadowski's new book, App Store Confidential.
It's the book Apple tried to ban. Or, at least, slow down.
Photo: Murmann Verlag

The author of App Store Confidential says he is “surprised” by Apple’s attempt to halt sales of the book, and by the company’s allegations that the German-language memoir reveals trade secrets.

Tom Sadowski, a former App Store manager who worked at Apple from 2009 through 2019, told Cult of Mac he’s not sure which parts of his new book Cupertino objects to. “I’d love to [know], but unfortunately I don’t,” he said. “I am accused of betrayal of secrets without specifying it more precisely.”

Apple’s ‘She Creates’ sessions celebrate International Women’s Day all March long

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mac
The 'She Creates' sessions will be available all of March.
Photo: Apple

Apple plans to celebrate International Women’s Day throughout the entire month of March with some special Today at Apple sessions that encourage women to explore their creativity.

The new ‘She Creates’ series of sessions will be available at Apple Stores from March 1 to March 31, giving visitors hands-on training for coding, photography, augmented reality and more.

Apple reportedly boosts iPhone 12 chip orders amid coronavirus chaos

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Right to Repair
Apple's first 5nm chips are expected to ship in iPhone and iPad this year.
Photo: iFixit

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak will have no impact on Apple’s plans for its next-generation 5-nanometer chip rollout, one reliable analyst reported today.

Apple is believed to have aggressively increased its orders for the new processors, which will power this year’s iPhone and iPad Pro — as well as Apple’s first Arm-powered Mac that is said to be scheduled for early 2021.

Apple’s first Mac with a custom chip expected in early 2021

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MacBook Pro review
It's about time!
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple’s first Mac with a custom processor is expected to make its debut in the first half of 2021, according to one reliable analyst.

Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities reports it will be a 5-nanometer chipset — like the upcoming A14 SoC that will power the next iPhone and iPad Pro. Apple is said to be increasing its orders after the coronavirus outbreak.

iPhone 12 might sport super-fast new type of Wi-Fi

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iphone xs upgrade
iPhone 12 might include a short-range wireless networking standard about 40 times faster than Wi-Fi 6.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 12 will include an ultra-quick version of Wi-Fi, if an unconfirmed report is correct. This could enormously increase the data transfer speeds of this handset, even outstripping some versions of Ethernet.

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Apple appeal in patent suit with VirnetX

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App Store monopoly lawsuit might make Supreme Court. This is the latest chapter in a long-running case involving Apple.
Apple VirnetX patent infringement appeal is rejected by Supreme Court.
Photo: Supermac1961/Flickr CC

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear Apple’s appeal of a $440 million judgment in one of many patent infringement suits brought by internet security firm VirnetX more than ten years ago.

The justices rejected Apple’s appeal in the long-running case in which a federal jury in 2016 found that Apple had infringed VirnetX’s patents and awarded $302 million. A judge later increased that amount to $439.7 million including interest and other costs.

Late 2020 iPad Pro could be the first with a next-gen Mini LED display

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2018 iPad Pro sizes: 2018 iPad Pro sizes
Apple has big plans for iPad Pro in 2020.
Photo: Apple

An upcoming iPad Pro refresh could be the first to introduce a next-generation Mini LED display, a new report reveals.

Innolux is said to be joining Apple’s supply chain this year specifically to supply new iPad Pro panels. Jingdian, another Mini LED supplier, is expected to be the primary supplier and may have already started shipping orders.

Signal is the European Commission’s encrypted messaging app of choice

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Signal app
Signal is all about privacy.
Photo: Signal

The European Commission doesn’t want its staff using WhatsApp or iMessage for internal communications. Instead, they must start using end-to-end-encrypted messaging app Signal as part of a push toward greater security.

“Signal has been selected as the recommended application for public instant messaging,” noted an instruction that reportedly appeared on internal EC messaging boards in early February.

Apple subpoenas major bank and intelligence contractor in ongoing battle with Corellium

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Company that ported iOS to browsers hits back at Apple
Corellium makes software that allows people to simulate iOS on browsers.
Photo: Corellium

Apple has reportedly subpoenaed Santander Bank and $50 billion intelligence contractor L3Harris Technologies as part of its ongoing battle with cybersecurity startup Corellium.

Apple wants to know how both groups are using Corellium’s software. This software lets companies run virtual versions of iOS for security and functionality testing.

Nonprofit seeks old Apple Watches to donate to people in need

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App Home Screen Apple Watch Series 4
Recycle Health is a wearables charity working out of Tufts Medical School.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Have an old Apple Watch you want to donate to a good cause? Recycle Health, a nonprofit working out of Tufts Medical School, is collecting fitness-tracking wearables to donate to underserved populations.

These include homeless people, veterans, people in senior living homes, and intellectually disabled adults, in low-income communities. The hope is that the fitness-tracking devices could lead to “sustained behavior change” among those who need it.