arsTechnica drew our attention to some unusually forthright comments from Apple’s lawyers on the subject of patent trolls, in a public FTC filing. Apple revealed that it had been the subject of 92 lawsuits by patent assertion entities over the course of the past three years, more than any other company. Apple’s legal team used particularly direct language when referring to Lodsys, a company which claims to hold a patent on in-app purchases and which litigates against small developers who cannot afford the legal costs of fighting the case … It would be interesting to see what would happen if Apple offered to fund the legal costs of the next developer to be targeted …

MagSafe on iPhone 12 makes possible magnetic wireless charging and new categories of innovative accessories. To showcase the technology, Apple has created interactive displays for Apple Stores around the world. The new MagSafe Avenue displays a collection of iPhone 12 Silicone and Clear cases with MagSafe, each attached to a demo iPhone mounted on the display. A screen in the center of the Avenue highlights how cases and accessories can easily be combined and swapped....

But wait, it gets funnier! The way Apple has to admit that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets are not in infringement of Apple’s copyright is just incredible. Apple will have to mea culpa itself via its website, as well as newspapers and magazines. According to this Bloomberg report, Judge Colin Birss ordered that Apple post a notice on its UK home page, as well as to buy space in magazines and newspapers — the Financial Times, Daily Mail, Guardian Mobile magazine and T3....

If a new report from Apple’s supply chain is anything to go by, Apple plans on shipping some five million iPad 2 units during the month of July. According to a brief report by DigiTimes, the company has placed orders for five million touch sensors specifically aimed for its second-generation tablet: The fact that Apple also shipped five million iPad 2 units last month indicates healthy demand following the supply and product transition issues in the previous quarter....

Apple received the top score in all nine categories of innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness (was never going to be too much doubt about that one), long-term investment value, quality of products and global competitiveness … Fortune compiles the definitive list by polling 4,104 executives, directors and securities analysts, asking them to select the 10 companies they admired most. The full top-ten list was:...

Apple rolled out Apple TV update 5.2 in January, bringing Bluetooth keyboard support, Up Next, and an enhanced iTunes in the Cloud service alongside iOS 6.1 for iOS devices. Today, FireCore announced it has released updates to aTV Flash (black) and Seas0nPass that support the new 5.2 update. FireCore’s aTV Flash software enables jailbroken second-generation Apple TVs to support additional file formats, access a web browser, and much more. The team provided instructions for updating:...

We learned last year that the new iPad is codenamed “J2” in the iOS 5.1Beta software, and we learned last week that it will probably be announced at the beginning of next month. However, we also learned about another Apple Jxx product: The next Apple TV. It is codenamed “J33” and “AppleTV 3,1” in the 5.1B software. This new Apple TV will also feature the low-power Bluetooth 4.0 technology. Perhaps, besides both showing up in iOS 5....

Apple Pay antitrust pressure is growing as the coronavirus crisis has boosted the popularity of contactless payment in general, and Apple’s mobile wallet service in particular. Contactless cards have a relatively low limit, above which the card needs to be inserted into the terminal and a PIN used. Apple Pay, in contrast, qualifies for very much higher limits or no limits at all, allowing contactless payment for even major purchases …...

Research shared by Phoenix Marketing International offers new data for Apple Pay‘s adoption and performance since it launched in the United States in October last year. The survey polled just over 3,000 credit cardholders to conclude that “11% of all credit card-owning households” and two out of three iPhone 6 users have used Apple Pay. Aside from a high adoption rate for the mobile payment service, the survey also highlights that almost half of those Apple Pay users have used the service just one time....

Apple has released beta 4 of tvOS 14.5 and HomePod 14.5. While the tvOS beta can be downloaded by developers and public beta users, the HomePod beta is only meant for invited developers. Both HomePod and tvOS 14.5 have the same build: 18L5186a. The tvOS 14.5 is bringing support for the latest PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers, which can be used to play games from the tvOS....

Apple has reportedly switched two million units of Q1 production from the iPhone 12 mini to the iPhone 12 Pro, as the company struggles to keep up with demand for the flagship models … The Morgan Stanley investment note seen by PED30 further corroborates reports that sales of the iPhone 12 lineup as a whole were higher than expected, while those of the mini specifically have been disappointing. It notes that Apple is still struggling to keep up with demand for the Pro....

IfoAppleStore drew our attention to the fact that Apple is opening its third Dutch retail store on Saturday, in Den Haag (The Hague). Apple’s existing stores in the Netherlands are in Amsterdam and Haarlem. While Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, Den Haag is where the country’s government is based, being home to its parliament and Supreme Court. The Hague is best known for the International Criminal Court, where war crimes and crimes against humanity are heard … Apple recently obtained a European trademark for the design of its stores, and has been busy updating everything from the visuals through the organizational structure to the customer service approach of its retail store network....

Apple has published a new series of videos in celebration of Earth Day that both highlight the company’s green energy efforts and explain some of the science behind clean energy today. The video series includes comical illustrations and narrations from Apple execs including VP Lisa Jackson. Each video poses a question and features an Apple employee explaining the company’s environmental strategy: Do solar farms feed yaks? Can we produce zero waste?...

Maybe Jobs’ liver transplant ordeal gave him the final answer. During his stay in the hospital, he had to have seen what an absurd nightmare of a bureaucracy the US health care system was and at the same time what benefit a tablet could bring to the whole operation. Doctors often use bulky, three pound tablets to do their work. Can you imagine Jobs in the hospital seeing people running around with an unreliable Windows Vista tablet....

A Community Education Initiative (CEI) is seeing Apple supporting teachers with a coding and creativity program designed to be compatible with remote learning. Apple created the CEI with the specific goal of helping teachers work with communities that are traditionally underrepresented in technology … While the Everyone Can Code and Develop in Swift curricula play a major role, the CEI is about more than just coding. Birmingham City Schools fourth grade science and social studies teacher Portrice Warren […] is one of nearly 500 educators who participated in a massive virtual coding academy this summer as part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative....

Not the Apple TV, but an Apple television. Apple has posted a new job position looking for people to work on next-generation power supply technology. Apple needs people to to “work on the forefront of new power management designs and technologies with the exemplary company consistently bringing innovations in the industry.” Although some mind find that fascinating, we find what Apple needs this new power management technology to power even more interesting… TVs!...

Silicon Alley Insider says they are hearing some rumors of a social networking app coming from Apple. The report is riddled with pre-backtracking so it is far from certainty. But, what they might be hearing whispers about is “Places” the social networking idea Apple trademarked recently. We also detailed clues about MediaStream, a social network-like photo/video/music sharing service with bits we found in iOS 4.3 (which may debut tomorrow as well)....

Apple is planning to change up retail in India in a big—and small—way, according to a report by The Economic Times. According to the Times, Apple plans to open a collection of small, iOS-centric stores. The stores will be setup by local distribution partners, not by first-party retail staff. While the main focus of these locations will be on mobile devices, Apple’s other offerings will also be represented to some degree in each store....

Update: You can now watch all episodes of Fraggle Rock on Apple TV+ here. Apple TV+ is said to have bought rights to the full back catalog of Fraggle Rock, comprising about 100 episodes of the live action puppet show originally owned by HBO. Apple has already funded a short set of ‘Fraggle Rock On’ shorts, and is now taking that relationship further. In addition to the full back catalog of Fraggle Rock, Apple is ordering a season reboot of the show with full-length episodes....

Apple TV+ launches in early November and will cost $4.99 per month. This year, streaming mainstays like Netflix and Hulu are going to get some serious competition from some of the entertainment industry’s biggest companies. Much has already been said about Disney+, the Mouse House’s streaming platform that will be the exclusive home to Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and an abundance of other programming. Apple is also looking to make a splash in the streaming realm, recruiting a lineup of heavy-hitting creatives to oversee shows and movies for Apple TV+....