Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple and two of its executives, CEO Tim Cook and chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri, accused investors of filing a “perplexing novel of a lawsuit” and asked a California federal judge to end allegations that the tech giant ultimately hurt its own sales with an alleged scheme to sell more iPhones by slowing down its old ones with a software update, reports <a href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1229091/apple-dubs-investors-suit-a-sprawling-190-page-riddle-?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Law360 </a>(a subscription is required to read the whole article).</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple, Cisco, Daimler and BMW have urged the European Commission to put the brakes on on patent abuses that are hampering the development of self-driving cars and other connected devices, reports <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/apple-cisco-daimler-and-bmw-complain-to-brussels-over-patents-1.4118617" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Irish Times</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance have announced a new working group that plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">There are earbuds, and there are different earbuds. Xen by Neuvana Life are the latter, designed to help you de-stress.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple may have canceled plans for its AirPower wireless charger, but the company is apparently still interested in such technology as evidenced by a newly granted patent (number 10,511,197) for a “wireless charging system with object detection.”</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The gang at iFixIt, which tears apart tech gadgets and examined their innards, calls the new modular Mac desktop “a masterclass in repairability." You can find their full teardown of the new Mac Pro <a href="https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac+Pro+2019+Teardown/128922" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Launched in 2014, Apple Pay has evolved into a major mobile payment market player in the U.S., according to <a href="http://www.researchandmarkets.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Research and Markets</a>. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to a newly granted patent, Apple is looking for ways to make Touch ID even more efficient — and possibly included beneath the display of Macs, iPhones, and iPads.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for another patent (number 10,506,978) for an Apple Watch band that could automatically tighten and loosen itself on your wrist, as needed. Such a band could also include health sensors.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced the arrival of a new retail store at The SoNo Collection, a newly opened mall in Norwalk, Connecticut. The technology company <a href="https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Apple-store-coming-to-SoNo-Collection-14907155.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">put up a sign Saturday morning</a> saying it would be opening an outlet at the large new retail center in South Norwalk.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced that <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple News</a> and ABC News will collaborate to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the key events of the 2020 presidential election, available in the Apple News app.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Sourcebooks and Sesame Workshop today announced a new series of companion books to <em>Ghostwriter, </em>an Apple TV+ original series that reimagines the classic show for a new generation. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple is among the tech giants sued by International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) — which “promotes human rights and corporate accountability through legal advocacy and capacity building” -- for “aiding and abetting extreme abuse of children mining cobalt in DRC.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple Arcade, Apple’s gaming streaming service, is now available with an annual subscription option of $49.99 per year in the U.S., $59.99 per year in Canada, £49.99 per year in the UK, and €49.99 per year in many other European countries. Previously, it’s only been available for US$4.99 per month.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">TIME has <a href="https://time.com/5745302/best-gadgets-of-the-2010s-decade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published a list</a> a list of “The 10 Best Gadgets of the 2010s.” Apple's iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods made the list.</p>