Followups

• Apple have re-engaged with UK GPU firm Imagination Technologies by signing a multi-year licenseing deal with them — www.imore.com/… & arstechnica.com/…
• The Checkm8 vulnerability allows Elcomsoft to add some new features to their iOS Forensics Toolkit (aforprofit grey-hat hacking tool theoretically only available to reputable governments) — www.imore.com/…
• Apple’s Challenges with Authoritarian Regimes Continued in December:
  • European Parliament members ask Apple to reverse its decision on Crimea — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple TV+ could be banned in Russia if it grows too popular — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple removed chat app ToTok over concerns it was being used by the government of the UAE to spy on citizens — www.imore.com/…
    • ToTok co-founder pleads with Apple and Google to reinstate its app — www.imore.com/…
• Apple Card
  • Apple offered 6% cashback on most of the products sold through http://Apple.com for most of december — 9to5mac.com/…
  • Apple Card’s interest free 2-year iPhone payment plan has gone live (as well as the 0% interst customers also get the Apple Card 3% cashback on Apple products) — www.imore.com/…
    • Apple starts pushing iPhone monthly payment ads via the Wallet app — www.imore.com/…
  • Retailers are paying a premium for you to use your Apple Card — www.imore.com/…
• Apple narrowly avoids next round of tariffs as the U.S. and China reach a trade deal — www.imore.com/… & Apple Avoids $150-Per-iPhone Levy After U.S., China Reach Deal — www.bloomberg.com/…

Notable Numbers

• Apple Shares Hit Record High on First Trading Day of 2020 — www.macobserver.com/…
• According to numbers from Counterpoint Research, Apple took 64% of the total global smartphone profits (from 34% of revenues) — appleinsider.com/…
• According to numbers from Wave7 Research, over 90% of smartphones activated on all the major US carriers over the holiday season were Apple or Samsung devices — www.pcmag.com/… & www.imore.com/…
• According to numbers from Sensor Tower: The App Store set a new record in Christmas Day spending, hitting almost $200 million — www.imore.com/…
• According to numbers from IDC, Apple increased their Q3 shipments of wearables (Apple Watch, AirPods & Beats Headphones) by 200% year-over-year to 84.5M devices, giving them a commanding lead of 35% of the global wearables market — www.imore.com/…
  • Related: According to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Apple sold $6 billion worth of AirPods in 2019 — www.imore.com/…

Legal Latest

• Apple appeals to Supreme Court over ‘grossly unfair’ VirnetX ruling — www.imore.com/…
• Apple sue Gerard Williams, a former Apple chip designer who left to found Nuvia, a new chip company that recently went public — www.imore.com/…
• Apple and coalition of tech companies urges the EU to stop self-driving patent abuse — www.imore.com/…
• Apple have expanded their suit against security firm Corellium to include DMCA claims — arstechnica.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…
• Apple, Google and Tesla named in underage labor lawsuit over Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo — www.imore.com/…
• Dr. Joseph Wiesel from the New York University School of Medicine is suing Apple over the AFib detection in the Apple Watch — www.imore.com/…

Apple HR News & Acquisitions

• Apple have hired former Vox Media PR executive Zach Kahn to lead PR for Apple podcasts — www.macobserver.com/…
• Former HBO chief Richard Plepler inks five-year content deal with Apple — www.imore.com/…
• Apple reportedly buys UK startup Spectral Edge to improve iPhone photos — www.imore.com/…

Main Stories

1. Apple has released the new MacPro and XDR Displays — www.imore.com/…
   • Mac Pro 2019: Pricing, Specs and Availability — www.imore.com/…
   • Mac Pro’s Different Pricing Options — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Blackmagic eGPU firmware update brings support for Pro Display XDR — www.imore.com/…
   • Here’s how Apple keeps its Mac Pro cool — www.imore.com/…
   • iFixit says the new Mac Pro is a ‘masterclass in repairability’ — www.imore.com/…
   • Is the Mac Pro really that expensive? — www.imore.com/…
   • A Look at The Inside And Outside of the New Mac Pro — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Mac Pro unboxing video roundup — www.imore.com/…
   • Reviews:
     • Jonathan Morrison Reviews the Mac Pro With Music Professionals — www.macobserver.com/…
     • Two Weeks With the New Mac Pro — www.macobserver.com/…
2. Apple partners with other tech companies & groups (including Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance) to create the Connected Home over IP project — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple’s press release — www.apple.com/…
   • Apple publishes open-source version of its HomeKit Accessory Development Kit — www.imore.com/…
3. Apple Continues to Improve its Platform Security
   • Apple iOS 13.3 is here, bringing support for keyfobby authentication — nakedsecurity.sophos.com/…
   • Apple’s new Platform Security Guide details security feature on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — www.imore.com/… (The guide itself — support.apple.com/…)
   • Apple have expanded their security bounty program so it now covers all their OSes and pays out up to $1M for the most difficult hacks — www.imore.com/…
   • Related: Apple’s privacy features in Safari are shaking up the advertising market — www.imore.com/…
   • Related: Apple Explains Mysterious iPhone 11 Location Requests —krebsonsecurity.com/… & The iPhone 11’s U1 chip necessitates constant geolocation checks, Apple says — arstechnica.com
   • Not all security news in December was positive though:
     • Apple’s new Screen Time Communication Limits are easily beaten with a bug — arstechnica.com
     • Apple accused of abusing DMCA to take down viral tweet — www.imore.com/…
4. 🇺🇸 The Battle Over Encryption Heats up again in the US
   • US senators on encryption back doors: “We will impose our will” on Apple and Facebook — www.technologyreview.com/…
   • U.S. Senators threaten Apple with regulations over data encryption — www.imore.com/…
   • Senate Judiciary committee interrogates Apple, Facebook about crypto — arstechnica.com
   • Facebook refuses to break end-to-end encryption — nakedsecurity.sophos.com/…
   • Apple Defends Encryption in Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Defense Department: We Need That Encryption You Want to Break — www.macobserver.com/…
5. TIME named 3 Apple products (iPad, Apple Watch & AirPods) in their top 10 gadgets of the decade — time.com/…

Quick stories

• ‘The Morning Show’ is up for multiple Golden Globe awards — www.imore.com/…
• You can now subscribe to Apple Arcade for $49.99 per year and save $10 — www.imore.com/…]
• New customers can get six months of free Apple Music with Shazam — www.imore.com/…
• Notes, Photos, and Reminders Now Appear on Mobile iCloud.com — www.macobserver.com/…
• There’s a New Apple Health Website Dedicated to Research and Care — www.macobserver.com/…
• You can now play Apple Podcasts on your Amazon Echo by asking Alexa — www.imore.com/…
• Dell Mobile Connect will soon support screen mirroring and file sharing with iOS devices — www.imore.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Apple News to work with ABC News on 2020 presidential election coverage — www.imore.com/…
• Apple News will co-host the 8th US Democratic Party debate on February 7th with ABC — www.imore.com/…
• 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Apple Pay coming to Public Transit in many US & Canadian Cities:
  • Apple Pay Coming to Transit Systems in Philadelphia, San Diego, Boston, and More Cities Between 2020–2023 — www.macrumors.com/…
  • Apple Pay is now accepted at Penn Station in New York City — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Pay is coming to the Washington D.C. Metro in 2020 — www.imore.com/…
• 🇨🇭Users complained about the Siri Remote so much a Swiss TV company had to make its own — www.imore.com/…