News round-up: MacVoices has myriad reports from CES 2020 (and more)

Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, we’ll frequently offer a weekly wrap-up news items you should check out.

MacVoices has a slew of reports from the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Check ’em all out at www.macvoices.com.

Apple is among several tech companies urging the European Union to take action against “parent trolls,” reports the Financial Times (a subscription is required to read the article). A patent troll is an individual or an organization that purchases and holds patents for unscrupulous purposes such as stifling competition or launching patent infringement suits. 

Apple is increasing its operations in Germany after making an agreement to rent out an entire office building that is still under construction in Munich, a location that could hold another 1,500 employees once it is completed in 2021, reports AppleInsider.

New questions have been raised about the FBI’s latest request that Apple break its iPhone encryption, after Forbes uncovered a search warrant strongly indicating that federal agents already have tools that can access data on Apple’s latest ‌iPhone‌ models. 

Ingenico Group has integrated Apple Pay support for loyalty programs into its payment solutions. Through the integration, merchants of all sizes using Ingenico solutions will now be able to leverage Apple’s mobile payment service.

doqo keyboard has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new keyboard and trackpad for the iPad Pro that features a built-in battery, full-size trackpad, and backlit keyboard.

India is considering a plan to offer subsidized loans to mobile handset makers in an attempt to lure Apple and Samsung suppliers to open factories in the country, according to Bloomberg. 

Microsoft Edge, a browser built on the Google Chromium open source project,  can be downloaded on both Windows machines and Macs. 

In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis says iPhone 12 models will feature a “refreshed” front-facing TrueDepth system that suggests Face ID could be improved on iPhone 12 models, but no specific details were provided. 

In a news story about an Apple employee who has started a barbershop for at-risk youth, Apple says that between its own donations and employee donations, it donated more than $100 million to charitable causes in 2019. 

According to Bloomberg, Apple and the National Basketball Association have entered a partnership that includes an Apple Music playlist featuring independent artists from an emerging label.

Business Insider notes that Goldman Sachs stresses that it decides who gets an Apple Card. And it’s apparently not happy with Apple’s snub statement that the card was “created by Apple, not a bank.”