Panel:

• Bart Busschots (host) - @bartb.ie

The show starts with a few quick followups to some stories from October before moving on to some regulatory and legal stories, a few HR stories, and some services and original content highlights before moving on to the four main stories; Apple's re-negotiated deal with the MSL, digital IDs, the O26.1 updates, and a pair of unusual new accessories, before finishing up with just one other quick story that made the news in November.

You'll find detailed show notes below the fold, and if you enjoy this free show, please consider clicking on the donate button at the top of the left side bar - the show is free for you to listen to, but not for Bart to Produce!

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Updates & Followup

Quick updates to long-running stories the show continues to track, and to stories covered in recent shows.

• The AppleTV rebrand continues:

  • Apple and Finneas Launch a New Signature Sound for Apple Originals — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Forget Liquid Glass, Apple TV's new logo was shot with actual glass — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple slices its logo for new Apple One branding — appleinsider.com/…

• Following last month's collapse of the class action against Apple & Amazon for supposed price fixing due to misconduct by the law firm, Apple & Amazon are now demanding $2M to compensate them for their expenses in having to defend the case — appleinsider.com/…

• Following last months announcements of major renewables investments in the EU and China, Apple have announced similar investments in Australia & New Zealand — appleinsider.com/…

• Having previously praised Tim Cook for not travelling with President Trump to Saudi Arabia to meet with their murderous crown prince, I was very disappointed to see him join other tech leaders to meet him in the White House — appleinsider.com/…

Regulatory Rundown

• The European Commission is now investigating if Apple is putting the security of their users at risk under the Digital Services Act (DSA) — 9to5mac.com/…

  • The two accusations, as per the letter the Commission sent to Apple:

    • "The Commission suspects that Apple 'has not put in place reasonable, proportionate and effective mitigation measures tailored to this specific systemic risk [of financial scams through App Store]'
    • *"The Commission suspects that Apple 'has not put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of safety and security of minors on their service'."

  • Apple has responded angrily: “We find it difficult to square the premise of these [concerns] under the DSA with the Commission’s radical enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has continually undercut Apple’s ability to protect its users. … Through the App Store and App Review, Apple has worked to keep fraud and scams, as well as apps that could be harmful to minors (like those dedicated to distributing pornography), off its platforms."

  • Related: an Apple-funded study finds that European developers are not passing the savings from lower fees on to consumers, suggesting the DMA is not achieving it's goal of saving consumers money by enforcing competition — appleinsider.com/…

  • Related Analysis: Exploring, in Detail, Apple’s Compliance With the EU’s DMA Mandate Regarding Apple Watch, Third-Party Accessories, and the Syncing of Saved Wi-Fi Networks From iPhones to Which They’re Paired — daringfireball.net/…

• UK refuses Apple's request to appeal $2 billion App Store ruling — appleinsider.com/…

  • This is a ruling from the same board that found against Apple (the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal) and is entirely as expected
  • Apple cannot appeal to a higher court without first appealing to the Competition Appeals Tribunal, so they are now free to file their real appeal

• Apple & OpenAI must face baseless xAI lawsuit about alleged anticompetitive collusion — appleinsider.com/…

  • Note: I intentionally chose a very opinionated headline because I also think this whole case is nutty as squirrel
  • "Elon Musk wasn't happy with how xAI was performing in Apple's App Store compared to ChatGPT, so he filed a lawsuit, which Apple and OpenAI must now face after failing to get it dismissed."
  • Apple & OpenAI are granted more time to gather data for their response, interestingly OpenAI have been granted permission to request information from an un-named South Korean entity — www.macobserver.com/…

• Poland probes Apple again over App Tracking Transparency rules — appleinsider.com/…

• EPA fines Apple $261,000 to settle hazardous waste complaint — appleinsider.com/…

  • A rare environmental lapse by Apple!
  • Relates to a chip factory in Santa Clara

Legal Latest

• Masimo -v- Apple: November was a good month for Masimo, and a bad month for Apple!

  • The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has re-opened it's investigation into the Apple watch, the question now is whether Apple's software changes were enough to side-step Masimo's patents —appleinsider.com/…
  • Masimo awarded $634M in Apple Watch patent infringement verdict — appleinsider.com/…

• Apple wins camera patent dispute, as Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal — appleinsider.com/…

  • The case was filed in 2021 by Gesture Technologies
  • The case alleged Apple violated the patents with Face ID, Smart HDR, picture facial recognition, optical image stabilisation, and more.

Apple HR & Acquisition News

• Apple COO Jeff Williams is now officially retired — appleinsider.com/…

• Apple has unexpectedly laid off a small amount of its sales force — appleinsider.com/…

  • Apple Layoffs point to major changes in how it sells products — www.macobserver.com/…

    • "Apple has cut several roles in its sales division as it changes how it handles business clients, schools, and government agencies. The company wants a simpler structure, so it can sell more directly and reduce internal layers … At the same time, Apple says it continues to hire and encourages affected staff to apply for new roles inside the company"

Apple Services & Original Content Highlights

• Apple TV:

  • Apple earns it's first Grammy nominations for F1 the Movie (3) and Severance (1) — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple early 23 Children's Emmy nominations, including seven for the now cancelled Time Bandits — appleinsider.com/…

• SpongeBob Patty Pursuit 2, the follow-up to one of Apple Arcade’s biggest hits, launches on December 4 — Apple PR

  • "PowerWash Simulator, Cult of the Lamb Arcade Edition, Subway Surfers+, NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM+, and Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss also join the service for a blockbuster holiday season"

• Apple Pay:

  • Apple Pay Express Mode Arrives on Edinburgh Trams and Buses — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple Brings Back its Annual Apple Pay Donation for World AIDS Day — www.macobserver.com/… (Until December 7th)

• Tyler, The Creator is Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2025 — Apple PR

• App Store:

  • Apple launches new Mini App Partner Program — appleinsider.com/… ("Mini Apps within WeChat can now get Apple to handle their payment processing, for a fee")
  • Apple Recreated the App Store on the Web with No Way to Download or Buy Apps — www.macstories.net/…
  • New Apple rules keep apps from sending data to third-party AI — www.cultofmac.com/…
  • Apple Announces 45 App Store Awards Finalists for 2025 — www.macstories.net/… (always worth a look for some new apps and games to try!)

Main Stories

1. MLS & Apple re-negotiate their deal — appleinsider.com/…

   • For users, the biggest change is that the separate subscription is gone, MLS games are now included in an AppleTV subscription — www.cultofmac.com/…
   • The deal has been shortened from it's original 10 years (to 2033), to end in 2029, but Apple's option to exit early in 2027 has been removed.
   • The finances have also changed, apparently netting the league and extra $50M — www.sportico.com/…
   • Related: Apple TV will offer Friday Night Baseball through 2028, contrary to rumors — appleinsider.com/…

2. Apple's Digital ID continue to grow in the US (but not beyond )

   • US Passports can now be added to Apple Wallet and the TSA is adding readers in 250 airports — appleinsider.com/…

   • How to use digital IDs in Apple Wallet & where they are supported — appleinsider.com/…

   • Public anxiety about Apple's Digital ID greatly overstates actual risks — appleinsider.com/…

   • Related:

     • Arkansas & Virginia have announced they will support drivers licenses soon, but don't specify dates — appleinsider.com/…
     • Illinois drivers can add their digital license to iPhone — www.cultofmac.com/…

3. Apple releases OS 26.1 — www.macstories.net/…

   • iOS 26.1 — www.macobserver.com/… & www.cultofmac.com/…

     • Less transparent option with tinted version of Liquid Glass
     • Lock screen swipe-for-camera feature can now be turned off
     • Alarms can require a slide rather than a tap to stop (harder to do without really waking up)
     • Related: Live Translation on AirPods expands to the EU — Apple PR (in Beta ATM, expected 'next month', likely with iOS 26.2)

   • Tinted Liquid Glass also comes to macOS 26.1— www.macobserver.com/…

     • Related: Apple Confirms macOS 27 will Drop Intel Chip & Rosetta Compatibility — www.macobserver.com/…

   • Slideover returns with iPadOS 26.1 — www.macobserver.com/…

   • VisionOS 26.1 adds support for Sony VR controllers, and Apple starts selling them in their online store — appleinsider.com/…

   • Other Software Updates From Apple:

     • Garageband got a minor bugfix update, and a new icon — appleinsider.com/…
     • Apple Invites now lets attendees say how many kids will be at the party — appleinsider.com/…
     • Apple Sports brings match results to 20 more European countries — appleinsider.com/… (not Ireland )

4. Apple release an unusual pair of new accessories:

   1. Apple releases the iPhone Pocket, a limited edition range of knitted iPhone sleeves in two sizes and various colours designed by ISSEY MIYAKE and selling for $150 & $230 — Apple PR

      • A hands-on review — appleinsider.com/…
      • We don't know how many were sold, but they did sell out — appleinsider.com/…
      • They must be popular, because the imitations have already started appearing on Amazon! — appleinsider.com/…

   2. Apple launches accessibility-focused iPhone accessory — sixcolors.com/…

Quick Stories

• Apple Stores extend return policy into January for holiday buyers — appleinsider.com/… (as usual)

  • "The new returns policy started on November 12, 2025. Most items bought between then and December 25, 2025, can be returned up until January 8, 2026."

Legend

Note: When the textual description of a link is part of the link it is the title of the page being linked to, when the text describing a link is not part of the link it is a description written by Bart.