Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, at the end of each week day, we’ll offer this wrap-up of news items you should check out.
As noted by MacRumors, Apple continues to mention its unreleased wireless charging mat AirPower in recent job listings in the United States and New Zealand. The wireless charger, announced well over a year ago, will — should it ever actually see the light of day — be able to charge a Qi-compatible iPhone, an Apple Watch, and a pair of AirPods (in a special wireless charging case) at the same time regardless of where they’re placed on the pad.
Cult of Mac says that Apple’s Bordeaux retail store in France was raided over the weekend as continued anti-government protests raged.
Apple Pay will make its debut in Germany this week, according to Macerkopf, a German blog.
In a note to customers — as noted by Barron’s — KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Andy Hargreaves says consumers are increasingly flocking to cheaper iPhone models. “Supply and demand checks suggest soft iPhone XR demand and a much larger tendency to trade down to older models than we expected,” he wrote.
The New York Times writes that Apple recently shelved plans that industry insiders say would have significantly curtailed location collection. Last year, the company said an upcoming version of iOS would show a blue bar onscreen whenever an app not in use was gaining access to location data.
Apple has seeded new developer betas of iOS 12.1.2, tvOS 12.1.2, macOS 10.14.3, and watchOS 5.1.3. Registered developers can download the betas via Apple’s developer portal. Or they can be downloaded over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.
Apple has launched a new web page that allows prospective buyers to select their current device, and then see how much an iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, or iPhone Xr would cost if they swapped out a device in good condition.
EU regulators looked into Apple’s mobile payment service and found it was not market dominant but they could review it again if they receive formal complaints, Europe’s antitrust chief tells Reuters.
