Top Apple-related stories for the week of December 1-4

Here are the top Apple-related articles at Apple World Today for the week of December 1-4.

° India’s government plans to make all smartphone companies have a state-developed app pre-installed. (However, Apple doesn’t plan to comply.)

° Apple now has 16.6% of the global wearable band market.

° John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, is retiring next spring.

° Missouri’s new age verification law means Apple and Google must now offer a digital ID system.

° Sports is the main driver of new Apple TV subscriptions.

° iPad sales in China declined 14% annually in the third quarter of 2025.

° Worldwide smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 1.5% year-on-year (YoY) in 2025, boosted by record iPhone shipments. 

° Apple achieved a 36% reduction in total upstream emissions from 2022–2024.

° A class-action antitrust lawsuit against Apple in the Netherlands will continue.

° A new report says the iPhone Air is the worst performing Apple smartphone in years.

° Apple’s most prominent design exec, Alan Dye, is heading to Meta.

° This Christmas season, Apple celebrates the winners of Your Tree on Battersea, its public creativity on iPad competition, hosted by British comedian and personality Munya Chawawa. 

° Apple has honored The Rest Is History with the Apple Podcasts Award for Show of the Year.

° Apple has announced the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards, recognizing 17 apps and games for their technical ingenuity and lasting cultural impact. 

° Russia has blocked Apple’s FaceTime app as part of clampdown on foreign tech platforms.

° ° Apple has removed a Night mode photo feature from the iPhone 17 Pro, and no one knows why.

° Apple, Tesla lawsuits claim the companies profit from child labor and conflict minerals.

° Apple’s executive teams continue to be in a state of flux.

° Apple TV has three of the AFI’s Top 10 TV Shows of 2026.