Apple has been denied an effort to move a consumer privacy lawsuit to private arbitration today. The case involves customer complaints against Apple and T-Mobile over iMessage and FaceTime not being as secure as they’re marketed. Reported by Bloomberg, the consumer lawsuit Ohanian v. Apple Inc. is based on multiple customers’ claims that an iOS bug + T-Mobile’s approach to recycling phone numbers created a privacy breach: Apple and T-Mobile made a request to handle the complaints through private arbitration, and US District Judge Lorna G....

Following the announcement of the first Apple Entrepreneur Camp for Black developers and founders last week, Apple today opened applications for another Entrepreneur Camp for female founders and developers. The event will take place online in July and applications are now open. Apple shared the news on the Apple Developer website, inviting women to join Entrepreneur Camp, which will be held July 20-29, 2021. The first female-focused Entrepreneur Camp was held in October 2019 as part of Apple’s initiatives to promote inclusion and diversity....

Apple has hired ex-NSA security analyst David Rice as its newly-appointed Director of Global Security. A graduate of the US Naval Academy and previously a ‘vulnerabilities analyst’ at the NSA and a cryptologist for the US Navy, Rice will lead Apple’s security plans. David Rice is also the author of the extremely compelling, ‘Geekonomics:the real cost of insecure software‘. In this he argues that software developers need to focus more tightly on writing secure software....

As part of the ongoing reorganization of its India executive team, Apple has reportedly appointed Nokia executive Ashish Chowdhary as its new head of India operations. The move was first reported by news outlet IANS, citing industry sources. Chowdhary will reportedly join Apple’s India team starting in January of 2019. This aligns with a statement released by Nokia today, in which it said that Chowdhary is departing the company at the end of 2018 (via The Economic Times):...

Apple has been hit with another lawsuit today that alleges features such as iMessage and FaceTime infringe on the patents of Finnish company MPH Technologies. As detailed in the suit, MPH apparently tried to license the patents to Apple in 2016 and 2017, but to no avail. AppleInsider first reported on the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. According to MPH Technologies, Apple infringes upon eight of its patents for secure messaging functionality....

Image via Flickr user Glen Engel-Cox Apple may not be hosting a temporary store this year at SXSW in Austin, Texas, but it is investing $304 million to increase its presence in the state by up to 3,600 employees. According to a statement from the State of Texas and Gov. Rick Perry, Apple’s new Austin campus will “double the size of Apple’s workforce” in the state for customer support and other administrative positions over the next decade....

Apple has made another notable hire from the mapping world this month: the Cupertino-based company, coming off of a series of mishaps in its Maps division, has brought on former Nokia HERE and NAVTEQ executive Torsten Krenz, according to sources. Before joining Apple this month, Krenz served as Nokia HERE’s director of regional map and content. Krenz has had a long career in the mapping world and previously served as Vice President of Global Expansion in NAVTEQ’s Digital Mapping Operations before it was acquired by Nokia and merged with Here....

Earlier today Apple updated its website where customers can send in an old device for recycling to include the Apple Watch. That means that customers can now send their old Apple Watch to be responsibly recycled through the company’s Apple Renew program free of charge, but it’s not offering customers a gift card or any credit in exchange like it does with iPhones, iPads, and Macs. When Apple first released the Apple Watch, potential resale value and upgradability down the road was a big topic of conversation....

Following the public release of iOS 10.3 yesterday, Apple has updated its list of wireless carrier support and features by country to note a number of carriers that now support Wi-Fi calling and or VoLTE functionality. Wi-Fi Calling, which enables calling over Wi-Fi connections when cellular coverage is limited, and the wideband, higher-quality phone calls enabled with VoLTE, are now available in 20+ new countries and carriers (full list below)....

According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple offered to settle with Chinese company Proview after a long, ongoing battle over the iPad trademark in China. While the amount of compensation offered was not disclosed, Proview’s lawyers have not agreed to the deal and claim a “big gap’ remains in reaching a settlement. Recently, there was speculation that the trademark battle might have led to Apple holding off from launching the new iPad in the country....

According to data from Counterpoint Research, iPhone sales in India are booming. Apple reportedly shipped 800,000 units in the December quarter to the country, up from 500,000 a year ago. Apple has been aggressively promoting their phones with substantial discounts to sustain sales, given high prices for iPhone 6s in India (via Economic Times). Even with price cuts, that 800,000 number is composed of older iPhone models too. The report indicates that iPhone 5s was responsible for 30% of the sales numbers....

Apple has revealed that it will be investing more than $500M in research & development in China, as it today announced plans for two more R&D centers in the country. The new offices will be in Shanghai and Suzhou, and follow those already announced for Beijing and Shenzhen. All four centers are expected to open later this year. Apple says that there is a compelling reason for the investment …...

Last week, the NHL announced that teams would start using iPad Pros as a way to help coaches track various statistics and other data during games. To commemorate the new app, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Edmonton Oilers player Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs player Auston Matthews visited Apple’s Infinite Loop campus. The event took place at the Town Hall auditorium, with Matthews, McDavid, and Bettman being joined onstage by Apple’s Phil Schiller....

As we reported two weeks ago and again yesterday, Apple has today launched its Back to School promotion for this school season. Like previous years, qualifying student customers will get a free gift card alongside any purchase of a Mac, iPad or iPhone. While last year Apple gave out Mac App Store/iTunes cards, this year’s cards are for Apple Retail Stores. Buying any Mac makes the buyer eligible for a $100 Apple Store gift card and $50 cards will be distributed alongside iPads and iPhones....

Apple’s patent infringement claims against Samsung now include twelve courts in nine countries on four continents. Reuters reported this morning that Apple is now formally suing Samsung in Japan and seeking to block sales of Samsung phones and tablets in the country: The iPhone maker is seeking 100 million yen, or approximately $1.3 million, in damages. Apple previously had filed four complaints before the Tokyo District Court, according to patent expert Florian Müller....

Apple’s been on a roll lately. They sold a record 18.65 million iPhones in the first quarter and for the first time zoomed past Microsoft in terms of profitability. The 49,400 Apple employees helped the company earn $14 billion annually and pull 30 percent growth in earnings per share. Recognizing those strides and Apple’s rising fortunes, the company is now ranked 35th on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations....

Apple continues to promote the “slofie” feature of iPhone 11. The company has shared two new advertisements for the feature on YouTube today, highlighting the slo-mo selfie capabilities of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. Today’s new videos continue Apple’s trend of highlighting the slofie feature of the iPhone 11 in different environments. Apple invented the “Slofie” term as a way to describe the slo-motion selfie feature of the latest iPhone models....

Apple has begun removal of the innumerable amount of unofficial games based on popular cartoon characters from their app store. As of this time, Apple has not released an official statement as to why they’re suddenly removing all of these programs. In the Apple developer guidelines, Apple states that “apps should not include content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy,” as of its latest update....

Apple announced the new iPhone SE last week, and the phone is now available to order in more than 40 countries, according to Apple. While Brazil is not in the first wave at launch, the 2020 iPhone SE may arrive in the country in the coming weeks, as ANATEL (Brazil’s FCC-equivalent) has just released the documentation of the product homologation process. More surprisingly, there’s evidence that Apple is planning to assemble the new iPhone in Brazil....

[Update: Apple tells us that The Chronic will definitely be available tomorrow on Apple Music.] [Update #2: The Chornic is available on Apple Music and available to purchase digitally for the first time on the iTunes Store.] Taylor Swift’s 1989 album isn’t the only high profile record exclusive coming to Apple’s new streaming music service when it launches tomorrow. Apple Music is said to include Dr. Dre’s classic album The Chronic for streaming, Rolling Stone reports, which will be a digital first for the hip-hop album....