Apple

Apple originally launched its own News app for iOS last June and now the company looks to be expanding the ad offerings of which publishers can take advantage. According to a support document updated recently, Apple will soon start allowing ads that resemble normal articles in the Apple News app (via BI).

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Following the extensive 60 Minutes piece last December, Charlie Rose has shared yet another interview with Apple design head Jony Ive. In the 35 minute interview, Rose and Ive discuss the qualities that “make Apple Apple” and the role of design in the company’s identity.

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The Apple/FBI iPhone encryption backdoor debate continues to ramp up, with an FBI filing late last week causing Apple SVP Bruce Sewell to describe the case as a smear campaign against the company. Apple and the FBI take the battle to the courts officially on March 22nd, the day after Apple’s spring media event.

Although the topic at hand is clearly important, where the government is asking Apple to make software to undermine the security of iPhones, the bureaucracy of court proceedings can make the (continuing) story pretty stale and laborious. In a Last Week Tonight segment, comedian Jon Oliver humorously presents the opposing arguments without losing the underlying factual basis.

Watch the video after the break …

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The latest to speak out on the Apple and FBI controversy is none other than President Obama who earlier today attended a talk at South by Southwest Interactive. While the talk was about “civic engagement in the 21st Century,” the conversation not surprisingly turned to the government’s role in the high-profile Apple and FBI case.

Obama made it clear that he isn’t behind Apple in the case, saying that tech companies shouldn’t “take an absolutist view” on encryption and encouraging them to make concessions instead of forcing Congress to pass new law:

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Will Apple stick to business as usual later this month at its press event for the new iPhone SE, Apple Watch, and Mac updates? Or will it use the very public stage to also address the ongoing FBI/San Bernardino/encryption controversy?

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Update: Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell has said that the FBI’s latest filing is a “cheap shot” and notes that the tone of it “reads like an indictment.” Sewell went on to add that the FBI is “so desperate at this point that it has thrown all decorum to the wind.” Furthermore, the Apple executive said that the brief was meant on the FBI’s part to “vilify” Apple.

The Department of Justice has today filed its latest response to Apple in their fight over unlocking the iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen. The filling comes a week after the two sides faced off before the House Judiciary Committee over the issue. In the filing, the Justice Department accuses Apple of deliberately increasing security to prevent it from being able to comply with governmental requests.

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As we’ve reported in the past, Apple is expected to introduce a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro at an event later this month, and now we’ve seen the first alleged case made for the device. Nowhereelse.fr on Twitter has found a pair of cases supposedly made for the iPad Pro 9.7-inch that fall in line with reports that the device will feature Smart Connector support, camera flash, and more.

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As Apple’s battle with the FBI drags on, the company’s senior vice president of software and services Eddy Cue has sat down with Univision to discuss the case. In the interview, Cue echoes much of what his colleagues have said before regarding the case, including that it should be decided in Congress and several other points.

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While we’re still a ways off from the announcement and subsequent release of the iPhone 7, early rumors have suggested that the device will largely feature the same design as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. This goes against Apple’s general habit of refreshing the design of its flagships every other year, so we’re curious: Would you upgrade to the iPhone 7 if the design was largely the same as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s?

Google surprised everyone earlier today with the very first preview release of Android N — the next operating system update for Android devices — which anyone savvy enough with the right hardware can try out now for free even before Google’s upcoming I/O developer conference. Included in the first preview version of Android N are many new features that catch Google’s mobile OS up with Apple’s iOS 9 like split-screen apps and picture-in-picture mode. Like Apple, Google’s even launching a public beta program for consumers soon. Check out the full details at 9to5Google and see how each feature compares between Android N and iOS 9 below:

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This week Apple joined Twitter. Yep. Along with that, Zac and Benjamin discuss OS X’s first ransomware, and later on we’ll go over our iOS 10 wishlist and talk about what Apple needs to make the next version better than ever. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed. Big thanks to Harry’s this episode.

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It has begun. The first images of purported iPhone 7 case leaks have started to appear online today. If true, the new iPhone will look very similar to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 with curved corners and a flat back. Notably, this case does not include a hole for a 3.5 mm headphone jack — reinforcing rumors that Apple will drop it in favor of Bluetooth or Lightning headphones.

On the bottom of the phone, it appears to feature only a Lightning port surrounded by two equal-width speaker grilles, which could mean the phone will include some kind of stereo sound output. Aside from the lack of a headphone port, it’s hard to see any other major differences from the case leak. More images after the break, via @OnLeaks …

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Sonos speakers offer some of the best features in the game, but they come with one drawback: it’s expensive to get the whole-home setup that people love so much. The cheapest speaker, the Sonos Play:1 comes in at $200, while the Play:3 runs $299, and the Play:5 goes for $499. And remember, to get that whole-home setup, you’ll have to buy at least two speakers. While the Sonos speakers definitely offer the added benefit of being easy to use, it’s hard to justify spending so much if you’re living on a budget. Thankfully, there are a couple of other ways to get a whole-home speaker setup at a fraction of the cost…

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Update: Elon Musk said in a tweet today that the American Enterprise Institute meeting was not secretive and that he was not there to talk about Trump.

The AEI meeting wasn't secret and I was only there for a few hours to talk about Mars and sustainable energy. Nothing to do with Trump.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2016

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been very vocal with his opinions about Apple recently and now, it appears that Tim Cook is part of a coalition trying to stop Trump gaining the nomination. According to a report from the Huffington Post, Cook was among a handful of tech CEOs and Republican establishment members who recently met at the American Enterprise Institute’s World Forum to discuss how to best stop Donald Trump.

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As Apple continues to fight a court order asking it to unlock the iPhone of one the San Bernardino gunmen, the company is also involved in a similar case in New York. Last week, a New York judge ruled that the government couldn’t force Apple to unlock a device, but now, Reuters reports that the Department of Justice is fighting the ruling and is again citing the All Writs Act as reasoning.

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Apple today shared new photos from within the currently under construction Campus 2 (via Mashable), as well as previously unknown details about the site set to become the company’s new headquarters when construction completes early next year. 

The most impressive shots and most of the new details surround the on-site auditorium separate from the main building, where the company will indeed hold future press events. That was expected, but Mashable seems to have gotten the inside scoop from Apple and notes the company is calling the auditorium “Theatre” internally and that it will be “the new stage where Apple will publicly debut its products to the media and, ultimately, the world.”

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Apple will be on the hook for $450 million after losing its appeal in the e-book price-fixing case, Bloomberg reports. The United States Supreme Court released the decision after Apple appealed the prior ruling. The high-profile case dates back to a 2012 lawsuit from the United States, which Apple appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, but the justices declined to hear the case which leaves the prior ruling intact.

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As part of Apple’s continuing quest to raise support for its side of the Apple/FBI iPhone encryption backdoor debate, Craig Federighi has written an opinion piece in The Washington Post. Unsurprisingly, the Apple executive repeats much of the arguments Apple has already made, indicating that hampering security efforts in technology is counterproductive:

To get around Apple’s safeguards, the FBI wants us to create a backdoor in the form of special software that bypasses passcode protections, intentionally creating a vulnerability that would let the government force its way into an iPhone. Once created, this software — which law enforcement has conceded it wants to apply to many iPhones — would become a weakness that hackers and criminals could use to wreak havoc on the privacy and personal safety of us all.

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