Updates & Follow-ups

Quick updates to long-running stories the show continues to track, and to stories covered in recent shows.

• A plausible explanation for a limitation that perplexed Bart last month: Why Apple Upgrade only Works with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Piggy-backing off these carriers excellent credit checks
  • Possibly part of Apple’s bigger deals with major carriers
• Apple is still not done raising prices: 🇺🇸 Apple Announces Price Increase for Apple TV and Apple One Subscriptions — daringfireball.net/…
  • Apple TV Monthly): $12.99 → $14.99
  • Apple TV (Annual): $99 → $119
  • Apple One Individual: $19.95 → $21.95
• Apple continues to roll out their back to school offers: 🇪🇺 Apple Back to School 2026 Offer Goes Live Across Europe — www.macobserver.com/… (gift cards, like in the US)
  • Related: 🇺🇸 Apple Extends 2026 Back to School Offer Until September 24 — www.macobserver.com/…
• Apple continues to invest in it’s supply chain, and not just in the US:
  • 🇺🇸 Apple Opens New Advanced Manufacturing Center in Houston — www.macobserver.com/…
  • 🇻🇳 Mac, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro suppliers in Vietnam get new Apple Education Center — appleinsider.com/…
  • Related: 🇺🇸 Apple’s Kentucky iPhone glass plant will add 200 permanent jobs — appleinsider.com/…
• 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Apple’s controversial Apple Macs ads go live in the US & Canada:
  • Mid-August: Apple Maps Ads Open for Business Bookings Starting Today — www.macobserver.com/…
  • End of August: Apple Maps ads go live on iPhone, and some users aren’t happy — www.cultofmac.com/… (Very level-headed coverage)
• The end of the Intel Era comes ever closer: Apple Now Lets Mac App Store Developers Drop Intel Mac Support — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 More Trump Topographical Tantrums: Trump signs executive order to rename Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ — www.irishtimes.com/…
  • Google Maps Renames Lake Ontario to Lake America for US Users — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple Maps bring up Lake Ontario if you search for ‘Lake America’ — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple Maps updates ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America’ for US users — appleinsider.com/…
  • MapQuest app reaches No 1 on US Apple list after defying Trump’s Lake Ontario order — www.theguardian.com/…
  • Opinion from Andy Ihnatko: She Made Harry Eat… — ihnatko.com/… (basically my take)

Regulatory Rundown

• 🇩🇪 German regulators rule on ad-industry complaints about App Tracking Transparency — appleinsider.com/…
  • App Tracking Transparency gets to stay 🎉
  • “Apple is allowed to provide for a level of protection for its users that exceeds the minimum legal requirements. However, if Apple sets up additional rules within its ecosystem for the use of data, these rules must, under Germany’s special abuse provision for large digital companies, not treat its own offerings better than those of its competitors. … This is precisely where our competition concerns arose. Apple will now align the consent requests much more closely and give third-party app providers more freedom to combine the necessary requests in a sensible way.” — Bundeskartellamt (Germany’s federal cartel office)

Legal Latest

• 🇺🇸 Apple -v- John Prosser: Having seen the first signs of cooperation from John Prosser last month, and a notable gesture of good will from Apple, Prosser is back to slow-walking things: Jon Prosser’s baby forces another extension to Apple’s legal battle — appleinsider.com/… (No time to gather needed information for discovery)
• 🇺🇸 DOJ -v- Apple: this case continued to move forward slowly this month:
  • Apple pushed back strongly against the DOJ’s appeal of Apple’s success requesting discovery of US government agencies reasons for choosing Apple when procuring devices — 9to5mac.com/…
  • The court sided with Apple, they can get the documents they want from US agencies — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Apple -v- OpenAI — this case has been very active all month:
  • Context: because neither macOS nor iOS can handle multiple Apple IDs, Apple encourage users to use their Personal Apple ID on their work-devices, and corporate folders get shared with those Apple IDs — www.macobserver.com/… (this is a terrible and utterly unprofessional approach, Apple should fix this absolute clanger of a short-coming, nor bodge their way around it like this!)
  • Having already posted two public non-denial denials last month, OpenAI started August with a third non-denial denial, but instead double-down on the nonsense wrong email address excuse that was already ridiculed last month, and on the strange iCloud setup they use — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple escalated: Apple demands OpenAI injunction, discovery, testimony now to prevent more harm — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple addressed the iCloud point head one, explaining that nothing cited in their case involved these silly shared iCloud folders — www.theinformation.com/…
  • OpenAI reply to Apple’s suit, explicitly denying the accusations, and requesting the case be dismissed because Apple are not making specific accusations — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple responds: OpenAI’s distortion & speculation warrant denying suit dismissal, says Apple — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple file a stronger request for an injunction and expedited discovery: OpenAI’s lawsuit delays cause more harm every day, says Apple — appleinsider.com/…
  • OpenAI replies to Apple’s reply to their request to dismiss the case: OpenAI Files New Petition to Dismiss Apple Trade Secret Lawsuit — www.macobserver.com/…
    • Apple doesn’t specify specific trade secrets
    • Apple has not shown reasonable steps to protect their data
    • Apple fail to prove any former employees or partner companies misused anything
    • No clear evidence of actual harm or financial damage
    • Accusations rely on wild guesses
  • Apple reply back with specific evidence from their forensic examination of former Apple VP Chang Liu’s laptop, citing specific acts and specific pieces of intellectual property, and evidence of destruction of evidence — appleinsider.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…
  • OpenAI reply again: It’s not our fault if you can’t keep trade secrets, OpenAI tells Apple — appleinsider.com/…
    • “OpenAI has responded to Apple’s latest filing about the theft of confidential information, by filing its own rebuttal which again accuses the company of trying to stop employees leaving. According to Reuters, OpenAI is now also calling out Apple for being behind on AI.” — Apple Insider
    • Apple Insider engaged a lawyer to offer an opinion of this defence, and they concluded OpenAI is facing an up-hill battle
• 🇺🇸 Apple -v- Epic: there was a lot of activity in this case in August:
  • Apple’s last-minute attempt to delay needing to file their proposed new App Store fee structure was rejected by the court, giving Apple just 24 hours before the original deadline expired — appleinsider.com/… (Apple had plenty of time to prepare)
  • Apple then ran back to the Supreme Court who gave them just 24 more hours to comply — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple Proposes up to 15% App Store Fee for External Purchases — www.macobserver.com/…
    • 15% standard rate
    • 10% percent for News Partner Program, Video Partner Program, Mini Apps Partner Program members & subscription renewals
    • 5% for Small Business Program developers (<$1 million per year)
  • Epic have 60 days to reply to the court, but they immediately expressed their disagreement on X — appleinsider.com/…
  • Apple have requested that some parts of their filing detailing their proposed fees remain sealed, citing commercially sensitive information, but Epic have replied with a filing demanding all the details be published — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple asked the court to order a formal settlement conference to agree new terms, but Epic filed a reply insisting there was no point given where things stand — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇺🇸 A Californian state appeals court has revived a 2022 law suit about Apple’s screen repair policies (specifically discouraging the use of 3rd-party repairs) — appleinsider.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…

Apple HR & Acquisition News

• Apple settles lawsuit over alleged discrimination against Jewish employee — 9to5mac.com/…
  • Apple refused to accommodate his need not to work the Sabbath
  • The Employee gets back-pay and damages
  • Apple will provide training on religious discrimination to relevant employees
• Apple Pay & Apple Card VP Jennifer Bailey is retiring — appleinsider.com/… (replacement not announced yet)
• Apple picks up Nate Gatten as new head of government affairs — appleinsider.com/…
  • “Gatten comes from American Airlines Group, where he held the same role for almost a decade. Previously, he led the global government relations and policy teams at JPMorgan Chase.” — Apple Insider
• Apple Cuts More than 200 Jobs Across Vision Pro Siri and AI Teams — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Staff can apply for other roles within Apple
  • Later reporting suggests the cuts extended further, reaching into other departments too — www.macobserver.com/… (Not surprising given Apple’s flat structure with lots of shared resources)
  • Related: Stryker Launches First FDA-Approved Surgical App for Apple Headset — www.macobserver.com/…

Apple Services & Original Content Highlights

• Apple Arcade
  • Apple Arcade’s lineup of hit puzzle games gets even bigger with the addition of Block Blast!+ and Art of Fauna: Cozy Puzzles+ — 📣 Apple PR
  • Sneaky Sasquatch fans are in for a big treat on Apple Arcade with an exciting crossover, a new sneaky adventure, and birthday stickers in Messages — 📣 Apple PR (collaboration with Subway Surfers+)
• Apple TV
  • BBC hit ‘Small Prophets’ bought by Apple TV in rare UK comedy deal — appleinsider.com/…
  • Ted Lasso Season 4 Becomes Apple Tvs Biggest Launch Ever — www.macobserver.com/…
    • Ted Lasso Look Alike Contest Coming to Apple Fifth Avenue — www.macobserver.com/…
    • Ted Lasso Appears in Severance, Silo and More in Clever Apple TV Commercial — www.macobserver.com/… (🎦 video embedded in article)
  • 🇺🇸 Apple TV Just Added 19 Classic Movies You Can Stream for Free — www.macobserver.com/… (US-only, if past is prologue, limited time only)
    • Apple added 15 more titles at the start of September — www.cultofmac.com/…
  • Apple TV is Bringing Hit Series Widows Bay to Theaters for One Night Only — www.macobserver.com/… (special screenings of final three episodes at select AMC Theatres)
  • Apple and Major League Baseball announce September “Friday Night Baseball” schedule and first‑ever broadcast in Apple Immersive — 📣 Apple PR (4 of 7 in VR)
    • First VR match has already aired — appears to have been a success, based on the following reviews at least:
      • Jason Snell: Apple takes first immersive baseball swings from the on-deck circle — sixcolors.com/…
      • John Voorhees: Experiencing Apple’s Live Yankees–Red Sox Immersive Baseball Broadcast — www.macstories.net/…
      • John Gruber: Thoughts and Observations on Apple’s First Immersive MLB Broadcast, a Yankees 1-0 Win Over the Red Sox — daringfireball.net/… (“magic”)
  • More awards:
    • Apple TV Hits Big at Critics Choice Super Awards with Five Wins — www.macobserver.com/… (Widow’s Bay & Pluribus)
    • Apple TV Comedy Shrinking Secures Four Trophies at Astra Awards — www.macobserver.com/…
• Car Play:
  • Apple CarPlay is Coming to Pontoon Boats Starting with 2027 Models — www.macobserver.com/… (Every new Balise model + Crest Conquest & Caribbean boats)
  • Volvo Adds Spatial Audio to CarPlay in New EX90 Software Update — www.macobserver.com/… (Popular model in Europe)
  • Meta Chatbot Arrives on Apple CarPlay Ahead of Siri AI Update — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇺🇸 North Carolina Prepares to Support Apple Wallet Drivers Licenses — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Related: full list of US states with announced but not yet delivered plans — www.macobserver.com/…

Main Stories

1. The Tim Cook Era ends, and the John Ternus Era Begins
   • The end of the Transition:
     • Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus meets with Tim Cook’s friend Pikachu & Pokemon CEO — appleinsider.com/… (A few days before the transition)
     • Tim Cook Gets Apple Farewell Party Before Stepping Down as CEO — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Tim Cook makes his Exit:
     • Tim sends a long memo to staff thanking them for their work — appleinsider.com/… (full text in article)
       • “The truth is, whatever there is to say about my success, I know it is all because of you. You have brought out the best in me. … I am most proud of what an annual report could never capture. This place is proof that culture triumphs over everything. We share a belief that what we build matters, and that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it. … Together, we have created something far greater than any one of us could have imagined or accomplished alone. And that’s the secret to our success. We bring out the best in each other. We lift each other up. We have made it possible to leave our ‘dent in the universe’, as Steve once described it …” — Tim Cook
     • Tim also posted a message to the community on Apple’s website — 📣 www.apple.com/…
       • About the emails from Apple users he read daily: “You share little pieces of your lives with me and tell me things you want me to know about how Apple has touched you. About the moment your mom was saved by her Apple Watch. About the perfect selfie you captured at the summit of a mountain that seemed impossible to climb. You thank me for the ways Mac has changed what you can do at work and sometimes give me a hard time because something you care about isn’t working like it should. In every one of those emails I feel the beating heart of our shared humanity. I feel a sense of deepening obligation to work harder and push further. But most of all, I feel a gratitude that I cannot put into words, that I somehow got to be the person on the other end of those emails, the leader of a company that ignites imaginations and enriches lives in such profound ways it defies description.” — Tim Cook
       • About John Ternus: “… a brilliant engineer and thinker who has spent the past 25 years building the Apple products our users love so much, obsessed with every detail, focused on every possible way we can make something better, bolder, more beautiful, and more meaningful. He is the perfect person for the job.” — Tim Cook
     • An Interesting Insight from John Gruber: while Tim’s departing messages were the most open we’ve seen him be, they were still not that open — daringfireball.net/…
       • Gruber points out that in a strange way, his lack of openness is him showing is true self, he really is a very private guy
       • Gruber quotes Tim himself in a quotation from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs: “Some people resent the fact that Steve gets credit for everything, but I’ve never given a rat’s ass about that. Frankly speaking, I’d prefer my name never be in the paper.” — Tim Cook
   • John Ternus makes his entry:
     • Apple updated it’s leadership page on the website to reflect both Tim & John’s new roles — www.macobserver.com/…
       • Ternus’ profile page has been updated — 📣 www.apple.com/…
       • Interesting analysis of it’s contents from Myke Hurley: Three Narratives from the John Ternus Executive Profile — www.theenthusiast.net/…
         1. That John is a hardware guy (expected, calls back to Steve Jobs)
         2. Focus on reliability an durability (unexpected, but perhaps the right tone in world of RAM and chip shortages and high prices!)
         3. CO2 reduction and environmental impact (welcome continuation of one of Tim’s big priorities)
     • John also sent a memo to staff — appleinsider.com/… (Full text in article)
       • Mostly an acknowledgement of, and thanks to, Tim
       • “I am so excited about everything we have in store. We have a huge launch next week that’s going to be phenomenal. Thanks for everything you’ve all done to make it possible. I’m just as excited about what lies beyond that, including the incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven’t even imagined yet that we’ll dream up and create together.” — John Ternus
     • Having not had a social media profile until now, Ternus joined X and simply posted “Hello” — appleinsider.com/…
     • We also get a peep under the hood at Ternus’s pay increase — appleinsider.com/…
       • Will get a big pay rise with the new role
       • Will not start his time as CEO making as much a Tim Cook ended his time as CEO making (hardly surprising!)
       • Cook made $74.3M in his last full year (2025), Ternus will be paid $58M in salary and stock in his first full year (2027), though he may get bonuses on top of that
   • A wider changing of the guard:
     • Team Ternus drags retired vice president of hardware engineering back into Apple — appleinsider.com/…
       • Unconfirmed report from late August
       • Laura Legros, retired VP of hardware engineering
       • Will report directly to Ternus as a VP (no title reported)
     • Apple Fellow and former SVP for Worldwide Marketing Phill Schiller takes another step back, relinquishing his roles running Events and the App Store — appleinsider.com/… & www.cultofmac.com/…
       • Another unconfirmed report from late August
       • Schiller’s deputy Nola Weinstein will be taking over Apple Events
       • Eddie Cue will be taking over the App Store (again)
       • Schiller is not leaving completely, he’s moving on to work on “unspecified initiatives”
     • Former CFO Luca Maestri has reportedly stepped back from his last remaining leadership role as VP of Corporate Services in the last few weeks — appleinsider.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…
       • Yet another unconfirmed report
       • New CFO Kevan Parekh is taking over these responsibilities
       • Maestry remains on Apple’s payroll, but now appears to be only teaching a popular class at Apple’s internal training centre the Apple University
2. 🇪🇺 Apple announces changes for apps in the European Union — 📣 Apple PR
   • Summary of new fees:
     • App Store apps using Apple In-App Purchase — 26% commission by default
       • All subscription renewals — 15%
       • Developers in the App Store Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, or Video Partner Program — 15%
     • App Store apps using alternative payment processing — 20% commission by default
       • Developers in the App Store Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, or Video Partner Program — 10%
     • App Store apps that link out of the app to complete purchases — 15% commission by default
       • Developers in the App Store Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, or Video Partner Program — 10%
     • Apps distributed via alternative app marketplaces/web — 5% Core Technology Commission
   • Other important details:
     • One new set of terms for all EU developers
     • Apple can impose Child Safety Protections
     • It’s easier to get approved to run an alternative market place or to distribute directly on the web
   • An excellent summary of the changes: Apple’s EU App Store changes are big, and a preview of what’s coming in the US — appleinsider.com/…
   • This is an agreed final outcome: Apple will change its App Store rules to end its dispute with the EU — www.independent.ie/…
     • “The Commission welcomes Apple’s changes to their business terms, which follow a close dialogue between the Commission and Apple after the Commission issued a non-compliance decision related to Apple’s steering terms as well as preliminary findings related to alternative app distribution, both in April 2025” — EU Commission
   • Predictable as the tides, Epic Games hates the new EU App Store fees — appleinsider.com/…
   • Analysis: John Gruber offers as well reasoned Euro-sceptic analysis — daringfireball.net/… (Ultimately, the commission achieved very little)
3. New Mac Hardware
   • Apple Unveils M6 and M5 Ultra Chips With Huge CPU, GPU and AI Upgrades — www.macobserver.com/…(📣 Apple PR)
   • Apple’s new Mac mini, featuring M6 and M5 Pro, delivers a massive leap in AI performance, supercharging the leading desktop for always-on agentic computing — 📣 Apple PR
     • New M6 Mac mini keeps three-display limit, raises refresh rates — appleinsider.com/…
     • M6 Mac mini vs M4 Mac mini: Here’s Everything Apple Upgraded — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra — the ultimate desktop for on‑device AI and the most extreme pro workflows — 📣 Apple PR
     • Built-in Genlock makes the Mac Studio a boon for professional video production — appleinsider.com/… (Genlock syncs footage from multiple cameras)
   • As expected, prices have risen substantially: Memory and Storage Configurations and Pricing for the New Mac Minis (M6/M5 Pro) and Mac Studios (M5 Max/M5 Ultra) — daringfireball.net/…
   • New Mac Mini and Studio Models Will Launch with macOS Golden Gate — www.macobserver.com/… (Both launching 22 September, so the OS 27 OS will obviously be out by then)
   • Some smaller changes too:
     • Apple Updates Magic Keyboards — www.macstories.net/…
       • no price increase!
       • Biggest change is in how the keys are labeled, now matches MacBook keyboards
     • Apple Expands 40w Dynamic Power Adapter with 60w Max to Europe and Vietnam — www.macobserver.com/…
     • Apples New $9 Polishing Cloth Feels Softer than the Original — www.macobserver.com/…
   • Related: Apple Increases Device Trade in Payouts for iPhone iPad and Mac Users — www.macobserver.com/… (Could this be as a result of the RAM shortage, making older parts more valuable?)
   • Related: Apple Launches Redesigned Accessories Store with Better Search and Categories — www.macobserver.com/…

Quick Stories

• Things get a little easier for Mac users who also use Windows: Microsoft Edge is Adding Apple Account Sign in on Mac and Windows — www.macobserver.com/…
• Apple adds some more options for those with hearing loss: Apple Expands its MFI Hearing Device List with 43 New Models — www.macobserver.com/… (Made for iPhone certification)
• Apple becomes the first brand to be honored by the Creative Hall of Fame — appleinsider.com/…
  • Have previously honoured specific Apple people, including Steve Jobs
  • First year of a new award for brands
• 📆 Apple Announces September 9 Surprise and Shine Event — www.macstories.net/…
  • Google Translate Spots a Foldable Teaser in the Apple Event Invite — www.macobserver.com/… (“A new chapter unfolds, dazzling and brilliant”)

Legend

Note: When the textual description of a link is part of the link it is the title of the page being linked to, when the text describing a link is not part of the link it is a description written by Bart.