News round-up: Apple sued over alleged iPad-caused fire in apartment complex (and more)

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. 

Another day, another lawsuit. The manager of an apartment complex is suing Apple in New Jersey federal court, claiming that defective and unsafe lithium batteries in one of the tech company’s iPad tablets spontaneously caught fire, damaging the complex and killing a resident, according to Law360 (a subscription is required to read the entire article).

AppleInsider notes that Apple has released three new “That’s iPhone” advertisements to their Australian YouTube channel regarding material recycling, iMessage, and privacy in the App Store.

On the heels of its launch of Powerbeats Pro, Beats by Dr. Dre (Beats) has announced that Chris Thorne has been appointed chief marketing officer.

As reported by CNET, Spotify pays Apple a 15% fee for only about 0.5% of its paid members, according to Apple’s response to Spotify’s complaint about App Store fees. Spotify filed a complaint against Apple to Europe’s antitrust watchdog in March, claiming that Apple uses App Store policies and a system of fees to stifle rivals. 

According to a CNBC report, when there’s a tough decision regarding an app in one of Apple’s App Stores, a decision is determined in a meeting of a group called the Executive Review Board or ERB, led by Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Apple has shared a video dubbed “Cascade” on its YouTube channel. The video is shot on iPhone XS by Donghoon Jun and James Thornton of Incite in collaboration with WET.

In a support document, Apple has publicly acknowledged the software developers whose work has been used (with licensing, of course) on iCloud work. One hundred sixteen contributors are credited.

The latest “Road to Macstock” episode of MacVoices features a conversation with Rosemary Orchard about her session that will focus on getting more out of Siri. Siri is much more than just a voice assistant in your HomePod. She talks about some of those things are, why it is easier than ever to tap the power of Siri using Shortcuts, and why you should never be afraid of trying anything with Siri.