Ben Lovejoy

Chinese police have raided a counterfeit AirPods factory which was found to be operating on a massive scale. The fraudsters were running three production lines in an operation worth around $23.5M.

The report says police seized more than 114,000 fakes, together with manufacturing tools, spare parts, and packaging …

Apple’s “malicious compliance” with Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is burning bridges with the very people the company needs to make Vision Pro a success, argues a new editorial.

The piece suggests that Vision Pro’s current market is so small that developers can afford to ignore it – or even ensure their iPad apps can’t run on it – which is something they are more likely to do if they are angered by Apple’s treatment of them …

Proposed amendments to the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) which could ban Apple security updates worldwide are an “unprecedented overreach,” says the Cupertino company.

Apple previously described the planned powers as “a serious and direct threat to data security and information privacy” – not just to British citizens, but to all tech users worldwide …

The niche web browser Arc has taken its ‘customize the web’ approach to a new level with Arc Search – an app which aims to be a web browser, search engine, and AI chatbot in one.

It represents the company’s vision of the future of how we’ll search the internet, and will eventually be the company’s only mobile app …

Apple’s third-party app store announcements – in which the company set out the terms on which it will claim compliance with European antitrust law – was nothing if not confident.

The company’s announcement combined criticism of the law that required it, exceedingly tough requirements on any developer wanting to sell outside the App Store, and warnings intended to deter users from buying their apps anywhere else …

A letter to the US Director of National Intelligence reveals that the NSA buys personal data which was illegally-obtained from smartphone users through the apps they use.

The open letter was sent by US senator and member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Ron Wyden. He asks US security services to cease this practice, and to purge existing data which was obtained illegally …

Meta is beefing up protections against grooming of teens on Instagram and Facebook by further limiting who is able to send them direct messages.

The latest measure builds on a previous Instagram protection, based on who teenagers follow in the app …

Both in-app ads and push notifications are being used to identify and spy on iPhone users, according to two separate reports.

The first says that in-app ads are being used to gather data intended to identify your iPhone and send highly sensitive data to security services, while the second found that apps like Facebook and TikTok are using a vulnerability in the way push notifications are handled by iOS to obtain the data for their own use …

Counterpoint data recently suggested that Apple beat Samsung in global smartphone sales across 2023, and a new report today suggests that the company set another iPhone record last year.

Despite surprise born-again competition from Huawei, the iPhone is reported to have been the most popular smartphone in China …

The 40th anniversary celebrations continue, with a website showing photos of every Mac Apple ever made.

The site was created by Jonathan Zufi, author of the coffee table book ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation, and includes photos from the book, as well as videos of Mac ads …

A new supply-chain report claims that Apple has cut the number of OLED iPad Pro orders by 20-30%, as the company reportedly adopts a more pessimistic view of likely sales.

It follows a recent report stating that production of the next-generation iPad Pro models was underway, as we get closer to an anticipated spring launch …

In a callback to Hitchcock’s 1963 horror thriller The Birds, a new 30-second Apple ad promotes the strength of Ceramic Shield.

The video shows a woman cycling through a park, her iPhone mounted to the handlebars, and using Apple Maps for navigation …

A new report reveals that Vision Pro scalpers used bots to place thousands of pre-orders for the device, with eBay ads appearing even before pre-orders opened. eBay listings showed prices of up to $10,000.

Although placing a Vision Pro order requires both an Apple ID and a face measurement, a company which works to help companies block bot activity says that these bots were able to circumvent the face check …

My colleague Zac wryly observed that the Apple Car has been four years away for nearly nine years now, following a report suggesting it will go on sale “as soon as 2028.”

That report also suggested that Apple has massively downgraded its ambitions, to something on a par with a Tesla, leading to critics referring to it as a “me too” product …

Spotify in-app subscriptions aren’t currently possible, thanks to Apple’s 30% cut – but the company has today previewed the experience it hopes to offer to European customers from March.

The streaming music company shows animations comparing the current in-app experience with the one it hopes to be able to offer once Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust law comes into force on March 7 …

A next generation Siri version is set to be powered by a generative AI chatbot, with analysts expecting it to be launched with iOS 18, and announced at this year’s WWDC.

While Apple has been criticized for the way that Siri has lagged behind, a new report says that this is because the company is aiming to be far more ambitious than existing generative AI systems …

Macintosh 40th anniversary celebrations continue tomorrow with a live event bringing together many key members of the original project team.

Participants will include Bill Atkinson, Steve Capps, Andy Cunningham, Andy Hertzfeld, Bruce Horn, Susan Kare, Dan’l Lewin, and Mike Murray …