Apple

Apple had published its latest Transparency Report on Government Information Requests, covering the second half of last year. It revealed that it received over 30,000 requests last year, and complied with up to 82% of them. It is not allowed to specify the exact number of National Security Requests, but says they fell into the 1250-1499 band.

Apple breaks down the numbers by country, region and type of request. It says that most fall into what it terms device requests. Apple’s compliance here ranges from 52% in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and India, to 80% in the USA.

The vast majority of the requests we receive from law enforcement relate to information about lost or stolen devices, and we report these as device requests. Device requests may include requests for customer contact information provided to register a device with Apple or the date(s) the device used Apple services. We count devices based on the individual serial or IMEI numbers related to an investigation. We encourage any customer who suspects their device is stolen to contact their local law enforcement agency.

Of perhaps greater interest are account requests, where the government is asking for information ranging from names and addresses to copies of iCloud backups …

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Apple seems to be preparing to announce a web version of its MapKit framework, allowing anyone to embed an Apple Map view into a web page. On the WWDC microsite, Apple has embedded its own map object in the page to show attendees how to get between Moscone West and the Bill Civic auditorium, where the Monday keynote will be held. Looking at the code, it appears Apple wants to make this embeddable map a public API in the (near?) future so anyone could add an Apple Map to their website.

The map allows user interaction like you might expect with panning, zooming and such. Behind the scenes, the Apple map uses a HTML5 <canvas> element to render the custom cartography. Right now, MapKit is exclusive to iOS and Mac apps, ostensibly funded by the revenue Apple brings in from the sale of App Store apps.

From a business perspective, it is unclear why Apple would want to open up its API to web developers. Today, most developers use embedded Google Maps to display maps on their websites due to its ubiquity. Although other mapping options exist, a high-profile entrance of Apple into the space would provide strong competition to Google’s offering.

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After an odd semi-unveil via Siri earlier today, Apple this evening officially confirmed that its annual Worldwide Developers Conference would take place from June 13th through June 17th in San Francisco. As in previous years, tickets are being distributed via a random lottery process to eligible developers. Interested in attending? Read on as we break down everything you need to know about WWDC 2016.

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Apple has long been rumored to be interested in creating its own original video content for Apple TV users. Earlier this year, the company announced its first original TV show that will focus on the “app economy” and feature music artist Will.i.am. Fast Company today reports, however, that this series is only the very beginning for Apple when it comes to in-house video content.

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[UPDATE: Apple has issued a statement on the passing of Bill Campbell, saying he “believed in Apple when few people did.” Via Daisuke Wakabayashi:

Bill Campbell was a coach and mentor to many of us at Apple, and a member of our family for decades as an executive, advisor, and ultimately a member of our board. He believed in Apple when few people did and his contributions to our company, through good times and bad, cannot be overstated. We will miss his wisdom, his friendship, his humor, and his love for life.]

https://twitter.com/pschiller/status/722137954257215488

Bill Campbell believed in Apple when few people did. We'll miss his wisdom,friendship,humor & his love for life. RIP pic.twitter.com/HA7hYgGxNM

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 18, 2016

Re/code today reports that Silicon Valley icon and longtime Apple board member Bill “The Coach” Campbell has passed away at age 75 after a long battle with cancer. The unfortunate news comes from “many prominent tech players,” following earlier unconfirmed reports. Campbell was a mentor to many tech leaders, including Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Jeff Bezos.

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[UPDATE April 19: New models unveiled including rose gold.]

Is Apple planning to refresh its 12-inch MacBook? Best Buy is currently listing all models of the device as unavailable on its website leading some to speculate that Apple could be planning a refresh. 

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Sony Corporation has issued an official news release in regards to the status of their manufacturing companies in Japan after the Kumamoto earthquakes. Having confirmed the safety of their employees in the affected regions, Sony has listed out a few details of the manufacturing sites that have been impacted as result of the earthquake.

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Rumors of Apple’s entrance into the video streaming arena have been swirling for a couple of years now, with Apple wanting to launch a skinny bundle streaming internet cable TV service, however news on the progress of this project has died down in 2016. It is unclear if it is still on the cards, various outlets reports talked had stalled with the television networks. However, Amazon and Netflix continue to battle it out.

Today, just as Netflix customers are forcibly moved to more expensive monthly plans, Amazon has announced it will offer its streaming video service as a standalone monthly subscription for the first time. Priced at $8.99/per month, the plan is a dollar cheaper than Netflix’s most popular offering. Until today, the only way to get Amazon Prime Video through a $99/year Amazon Prime subscription, bundling video, 2-day shipping and other perks into one membership.

Sadly, there was no word on the status of an Amazon Apple TV app …

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In a new report by KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo, the reliable Apple analyst claims that the iPhone will be seeing a major redesign in 2017, dropping the iconic aluminum casing for an all-glass enclosure with AMOLED screen. This follows on from another of Kuo’s reports in late March, where he first suggested Apple will return to an iPhone design akin to the iPhone 4. It does not seem like the iPhone 7 for 2016 will be seeing such a major overhaul, breaking Apple’s tick-tock pattern of a significant chassis redesign every other generation.

Kuo believes that Apple will be moving to an all-glass enclosure, dropping aluminum completely as it will no longer appear modern or fresh in 2017. Apple’s smartphone competitors are also adopting aluminum designs in droves, making it more likely Apple will want to differentiate with entirely new materials.

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Following Apple’s iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro launch last month, the MacBook lineup is next up for major product updates from Apple. What needs upgrading? All MacBooks are approaching or passing the one year mark since last being updated — MacBook Airs in March of last year, the new 12-inch MacBook in April, and the Retina MacBook Pros in March and May. But where might the new machines leave the rest of the lineup?

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Although it seems inevitable that the MacBook lineup will see some significant changes this year, as a major upgrade has been due for a while, the rumor mill is yet to close in one particular design or release date. Earlier in the year, Digitimes was reporting new MacBooks (intended to supplant the MacBook Air) are due sometime before July, resembling 13 inch and 15 inch versions of the 12 inch Retina MacBook.

A new report from Digitimes today says otherwise, suggesting the new MacBooks will not be available until the second half of this year, although an announcement at WWDC still seems possible if Apple met the earlier side of that release range.

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According to a new report from the Korean Herald, Samsung and Apple have reached a deal in which Samsung will supply around 100 million OLED display units to Apple beginning in 2017. The report comes as several other sources have stated that Apple plans to make the switch to OLED panels beginning next year.

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The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has today issued a new note in which it revealed that Apple has no further plans to provide security updates for QuickTime for Windows. The note follows an earlier report from Trend Micro and comes as two new vulnerabilities have been discovered that could affect QuickTime for Windows users.

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In what feels like a never-ending battle, Apple and the FBI will once again testify in Congress next week regarding encryption. Reuters reports that Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell and FBI executive assistant director Amy Hess will testify on separate panels before House Energy and Commerce subcommittee next Tuesday, April 19th.

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One qualm many have had about the iOS App Store is that the search functionality is currently a less-than-stellar way to peruse through the millions of apps available for users. According to a new report from Bloomberg, however, Apple is working behind-the-scenes to explore a handful of changes for App Store search.

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Earlier today, Apple unveiled the beginnings of its efforts for Earth Day 2016, and with it came an updated webpage that aims to answer all sorts of questions about Apple and its focus on the environment. One tidbit of information on that page, however, is that instead of referring to its desktop operating system as OS X, Apple again has referred to it as MacOS.

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The Times reports that Apple is signing up UK footballer Raheem Sterling to be its latest celebrity endorser as the company reportedly plans a new ad campaign that will surround Sterling and the European Championship finals this summer. The report claims Sterling will earn a six-figure pay check for the endorsement:

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(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

With recent spats with the FBI and the Obama administration, Apple’s presence in Washington is growing rapidly. Today it was revealed that Apple hired insider Cynthia Hogan to head up its Washington office. Politico broke the story:

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[UPDATE: Full collection of all 27 ‘Apps for Earth’ here.]

Earth Day is just over a week away and it appears Apple plans to highlight it this year with a campaign to raise money for the World Wide Fund for Nature. WWF and Apple teamed up this time last year on an environmental initiative in China, and this year it’s an App Store campaign that brings to two groups and developers together. Several iOS apps have updated today to highlight money from app sales and in-app purchases going toward WWF through April 24th. The App Store will likely update later today to feature these apps, but we’ve collected apps we’ve found so far below:

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A proposed law that would force Apple and other tech companies to decrypt devices for law enforcement agencies has reached the stage of a draft bill – but one Senator has vowed to filibuster it. A filibuster is when a parliamentarian makes a lengthy, uninterrupted speech which results in running out of time to debate the bill, causing it to fail.

The Senate Intelligence Committee first proposed to introduce the bill in February, and the FBI lent its support by briefing two sponsoring senators. However, many lawmakers oppose the bill, and it has been reported that the White House will not publicly support it.

The Verge now reports that one senator has pledged to filibuster the bill if it gets as far as a Senate debate …

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