Panel:

• Bart Busschots (host) - @bbusschots
• Charles Edge from the Mac Admins Podcast - @cedge318
• Nick Riley - @spligosh

The show starts with a few followup stories, some notable numbers, a few legal stories, and some HR and acquisitions news. The five main stories are the new MacPro and XDR displays, the Connected Home over IP project, Apples continuing evolution on security, a re-kindling of the encryption debate in the US, and TIME magazine including three Apple devices in their top 10 gadgets of the decade.

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!

[audio mp3=”http://www.mymac.com/podcast/lta/LetsTalkApple-EP76-December2019.mp3”]

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/…