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Digitimes reports that Apple is expected to beat out Samsung this year as the biggest purchaser of AMOLED smartphone screens. Apple’s demand is higher than ever with the entire iPhone 12 lineup and the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup all featuring OLED screens. Apple suppliers are said to be pulling in components in June as they prepare for iPhone 13 mass production in the July timeframe. Apple is trying to secure a steady stream of components for the iPhone 13, not wanting to repeat the production disruptions experienced with the iPhone 12 last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic....

Apple has announced that its vice president of public policy and government affairs, Cynthia Hogan, is departing. This announcement comes after Hogan joined Joe Biden’s vice presidential selection team last month. Hogan joined Apple in 2016, tasked with a variety of responsibilities related to policy, lobbying, and government relations. Apple has not yet named a replacement for Hogan, but the company did confirm the departure to Axios. Prior to joining Apple, Hogan served as counsel to Biden in the White House and Senate....

Update: OS X Mavericks is available now as a free download on the Mac App Store. Apple has done something it hasn’t done before with a major release of OS X, announcing today during its iPad event that it will release OS X Mavericks, the latest version of its desktop OS, later today for free to all users. Mavericks is available starting today for iMac and MacBook Pros from 2007 or later, 2008 MacBook Air, MacBook, and Mac Pro or later, and the 2009 Mac mini or later....

Along with unveiling iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and more today, Apple has announced tvOS 14 with a number of new features and improvements including a brand new Home app experience called “Home view,” audio sharing, and more. Last year with tvOS 13, Apple TV gained a new Control Center, multiple user support with the Up Next feature, built-in support for Xbox One and Playstation DualShock 4 game controllers, and new underwater screensavers....

Apple has quietly released a new version of the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, adding Force Touch to the device (introduced to the 13-inch MacBook last month). Force Touch can detect the pressure applied on the pad, thus allow for unique input via a secondary, deeper click, and the classic “taptic” feedback. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said the following: According to the information on Apple’s website, the laptop is shipping within a day for a starting price of $1,999....

Reuters reports on comments from Aaron Sorkin, the screen writer of the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic from Sony. Sorkin says that the film will not be much like the biography, and that while he knows what he is not going to put into the screenplay, he knows “so little about what [he is] going to write.” Sorkin, also known as the writer behind the movie The Social Network, also said that he will move his full attention onto the Steve Jobs movie project late next month (June)....

A senior Apple official has reportedly confirmed that the company is underwriting the legal costs of its four iPhone manufacturers in their court battles with Qualcomm. While Qualcomm’s CEO this week started using softer language, the dispute itself escalated further in a new development late yesterday … The four iPhone assemblers – Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and Compal – yesterday filed antitrust allegations against Qualcomm, reports Reuters. Which almost brings us full circle, the whole mess beginning back in January when the FTC accused Qualcomm of anti-competitive practices....

As previously rumored, Economic Daily News today reports that Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams had a meeting with Foxconn CEO and chairman Terry Gou in Taipei. ‘Market participants’ familiar with the matter would not disclose details of what was discussed but we would expect production of iPhone X to be a key topic. On Friday, KGI said just 2-3 million iPhone X would be ready to deliver to customers at launch....

Earlier this year, Steven Lamar, one of the men behind the Beats line of headphones, brought a claim against Apple for cutting him out of the $3 billion deal to buy out the headphones maker. How the Hollywood Reporter says that Beats (and thus Apple) is suing Lamar for claiming that he co-founded the company. The company says that by marketing his new line of headphones by promoting himself as a “co-founder” of Beats, Lamar is falsely using the Apple subsidiary’s name for false marketing....

Apple today announced the Shot on iPhone winning photos for the contest it started in January. This year, applicants had to show off their skills using iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro Max, submitting their best Night mode shots. A panel of judges selected six winners this year. The photographers and their compositions will be featured in an online gallery, on Apple’s Instagram page, and be part of a global billboard ad campaign....

According to very reliable sources, Apple is about to release a red colored iPhone Bumper case. Apple’s inventory system just calls it “Red,” so we’re not sure if it’s PRODUCT(RED) certified. But with Apple’s ties to the organization, we’d assume it is. Not the actual Red Bumper: With Apple’s redesigned iPhone coming in less than a month, it seems hard to believe that Apple would release a case for the iPhone 4S/4....

Apple has updated its server-to-server notifications today with the ability for developers to get alerts when a renewal fails or when a billing issue is resolved. Apple noted that developers who already have server-to-server notifications set up in App Store Connect will get the new notifications automatically. There is also a new unified receipt. If you’re not set up with these already, check out Apple’s support page here on signing up for server-to-server notifications....

Over the summer, Apple informed developers that all apps would be required to securely connect to servers by January 1st, 2017. The announcement came as part of the App Transport Security feature in iOS 9. This evening, however, Apple announced that it is extending the deadline for developers to make the switch to HTTPS connectivity… In a post on its developer website, Apple stated that it is giving developers more time to support App Transport Security and thus extending the deadline....

Google gave a testimony to Congress last year claiming it earned two-thirds of its mobile revenue from iOS devices, but now it seems as though the company’s estimate might have been low. Google made less than $550 million in revenues for Android between 2008 and 2011, while making four times as much revenue during the same period with Apple products that employ Google services like Search and Maps. According to The Guardian, the settlement offer provided yesterday by Google to Oracle depicted Android’s revenue streams....

While Apple’s devices are typically more secure than the competition, that doesn’t mean they’re immune to flaws. In the case of the Mac, a new report highlights how Apple accidentally approved one of the most common malware threats to run on recent versions of macOS. While the original flaw was quickly fixed, another similar one has popped up. iOS is more locked down and naturally more secure than Mac overall because all apps need to be downloaded through the App Store....

Apple Card continues to be one of the most popular announcements from Apple’s March event. As Apple and its partner bank Goldman Sachs ramp up testing of Apple Card, we’ve learned more about it. Read on as we roundup all of the Apple Card details, including rewards, fees, approval odds, interest rates, and more. Apple Card was originally announced at Apple’s March event, alongside services such as Apple TV+ and Apple News+....

Apple CEO Tim Cook will receive the 2017 Free Expression Award tomorrow night at the Newseum in Washington D.C., and Cook’s appearance will be broadcasted live for free. The Newseum highlights Cook’s public positions on social issues including privacy and LGBT rights while serving as the head of Apple. Cook is specifically being honored with the Free Speech Award which is one of five categories at the second annual Free Expression Awards....

Apart from all the announcements Apple made during its Spring Loaded event, there are always a few things the company rearranges without much alarm. This time around, for instance, Apple has quietly reduced the price of the nano-texture display upgrade on the 27-inch iMac. When Apple presented a new 27-inch iMac in 2020, the company introduced a nano-texture upgrade for those who want to reduce glare. First available with the Pro Display XDR, this feature was priced for $500 extra in the 27-inch iMac....

An analyst of the US contact tracing landscape paints a depressing picture. Not a single US state currently offers an app that uses the Apple/Google coronavirus contact tracing API — and only four states plan to do so. Others have launched GPS-based apps that raise immediate privacy concerns and are unlikely to see significant adoption, while the majority of states who responded plan to offer nothing at all… Legal blog Lawfare describes its mission as covering “that nebulous zone in which actions taken or contemplated to protect the nation interact with the nation’s laws” – making an analysis of the state of play of coronavirus contact tracing an ideal topic....

Apple has announced its official Black Friday shopping event, which runs from Black Friday (Friday 29th) through Cyber Monday (December 2nd). The exact details of the offer are yet to be announced. Apple says that gift card values vary based on products purchased, so be wary of the “up to” phrasing. It’s likely that some of Apple’s newest products will be ineligible for any gift card at all. Gift card giveaways are Apple’s usual approach to holiday shopping deals....