MacRumors

Apple last week sent a letter to Epic Games letting the company know that if it does not comply with the App Store rules and remove direct payment options from Fortnite, that all of Epic's developer accounts and access to Apple development tools will be terminated on August 28.

That would impact Fortnite, other Epic Games, and the Unreal Engine used by third-party developers. Epic in response asked a Northern California court to stop Apple from ending Epic's ‌App Store‌ access with a temporary restraining order (TRO), and there was a court hearing on the matter today.

Right when the hearing kicked off, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is overseeing the case, said that she was inclined to not grant relief with respect to games (including Fortnite), but that she was inclined to grant relief with respect to the Unreal Engine used by third-party developers. Rogers said that Epic created the current situation with Fortnite and could undo it by reverting to the status quo, so if her initial opinion is any indication of the outcome, we could see a restraining order that blocks Apple from restricting access to the Unreal Engine, but permits Apple to terminate the ‌Epic Games‌ developer account.

Your client created the situation. Your client doesn't come to this court with clean hands. Epic made a strategically and calculated move to breach, and decided to breach right before a new season. So in my view, you cannot have irreparable harm when you create a harm yourself.

All Epic has to do is take it back to the status quo and no one suffers any harm. And you can have a trial date in the spring. Flip the switch to the way it was August 3rd and return everybody back to where they were.

Lawyers for Epic and Apple were both able to argue their positions, and given the initial inclinations of the judge, Epic largely focused on arguing why its games should be able to remain in the ‌App Store‌ without changes, while Apple focused on reasons why it should be able to block the Unreal Engine.

Epic's lawyer's argued that asking Epic to capitulate and go back to the status quo is akin to "asking us to require consumers to pay more than they should in a competitive environment" and that it had antitrust implications. "We can't go back into an anticompetitive contract," said Epic's lawyer. Epic also argued about the social aspects of the game, suggesting it was more than a mere game and a vital way to communicate during the pandemic.

Apple's lawyer argued that if Fortnite and other games are blocked from the ‌App Store‌ but development of the Unreal Engine is allowed to continue, Epic could just transfer its bad behavior to other entities. Apple also focused on potential harm to users and the need to enforce contracts, claiming that Epic broke Apple's ‌App Store‌ model, profited by it, and "placed customers in the middle." The judge said that it sounded like Apple was overreaching because Apple has separate contracts with ‌Epic Games‌ and Epic International for the Unreal Engine and one should not impact the other.

The contract with Epic International has not been breached. Apple reached beyond its one contract with Epic Games and is using its hard leverage. It's slammed Epic Games with this additional penalty. It does to me look retaliatory. I don't see any harm to Apple to restrain you from not impacting the Unreal Engine on that platform or the developer's engine. It looks like overreach to me.

Epic argued that the Unreal Engine would be "destroyed" if it's blocked on Apple's platforms because developers use it for cross platform development. Epic's lawyers said that Epic has already heard from developers who are abandoning the Unreal Engine due to Apple's threat. Apple's lawyer in turn said that everything would be resolved if Epic falls in line with the ‌App Store‌ rules and eliminates the direct payment option in Fortnite.

Toward the end of the meeting, the judge said that the battle isn't going to be won or lost with a temporary restraining order, as there is a long legal fight to come, and it's not a "slam dunk" for either company.

There's some measure of a lack of competition and high barriers to market entry. That said, there appears to be evidence that everyone that uses these kind of platforms to sell games is charging 30%. Whether Epic likes it, the industry and not just Apple seem to be charging that. Right now, Epic is paying Apple nothing. Epic itself charges third parties. This battle won't be won or lost on a TRO, and Apple has a reputation of going the distance so it's not surprising they acted the way they did here, but like I said, they overreached.

The judge plans to provide a ruling on the issue in the near future, letting Apple and Epic know whether Apple will be allowed to block Epic from all developer tools and accounts, or whether a temporary restraining order will prevent the Cupertino company from doing so.

Update: The judge overseeing the Apple v. Epic battle has granted a temporary restraining order that will prevent Apple blocking Epic's access to development tools for the Unreal Engine. The judge will not prevent Apple from terminating the ‌Epic Games‌ developer account, which will prevent Fortnite from being updated until Epic complies with the ‌App Store‌ rules.

Epic was unable to demonstrate that Apple's blocking of Fortnite will case irreparable harm as, as the ruling says, "the current predicament appears of [Epic's] own making." Epic was, however, able to demonstrate a "preliminary showing of irreparable harm" related to the revocation of Apple's developer tools for the Unreal Engine.

The judge points out that Epic International, separate from ‌Epic Games‌, is responsible for the Unreal Engine development, and Epic International has "separate developer program license agreements with Apple and those agreements have not been breached." Apple had argued that it routinely terminates agreements for all linked developer accounts, which it will not be able to do in this case. From the ruling:

Thus, in focusing on the status quo, the Court observes that Epic Games strategically chose to breach its agreements with Apple which changed the status quo. No equities have been identified suggesting that the Court should impose a new status quo in favor of Epic Games. By contrast, with respect to the Unreal Engine and the developer tools, the Court finds the opposite result. In this regard, the contracts related to those applications were not breached. Apple does not persuade that it will be harmed based on any restraint on removing the developer tools. The parties' dispute is easily cabined on the antitrust allegations with respect to the App Store. It need not go farther. Apple has chosen to act severely, and by doing so, has impacted non-parties, and a third-party developer ecosystem. In this regard, the equities do weigh against Apple.

Under the terms of the ruling, Apple is temporarily restrained from taking adverse action against ‌Epic Games‌ with respect to restricting, suspending, or terminating any affiliate of ‌Epic Games‌, such as Epic International, from Apple's Developer Program, which mean Epic can continue to work on and distribute the Unreal Engine. The restraining order goes into effect immediately and will remain in force until the court issues an order on the motion for preliminary injunction.

The hearing for the preliminary injunction is set to take place on Monday, September 28, 2020.

Apple CEO Tim Cook last week donated more than $5 million in Apple stock to an unnamed charity, according to an SEC filing shared today.

Cook donated a total of 10,715 shares worth $5.4 million at Apple's current closing price of $503.43. The SEC filing does not include details on where Cook donated his money.

Every year in August, Cook donates right around $5 million worth of stock to charity, and in a 2015 interview, Cook said that he had plans to give away the vast majority of his wealth with a "systematic approach to philanthropy."

Following the donation, Cook continues to hold 837,374 shares of Apple stock worth $422 million.

Apple has purchased VR startup Spaces, according to a report from Protocol. Spaces last week announced on its website that it was shutting down its existing product.

The update said that it was "heading in a new direction," with no additional information provided. Protocol has been told that Apple purchased the startup, but neither Apple nor Spaces confirmed the acquisition. From the website:

Thank you to our users and partners who participated in our awesome VR video conferencing product and the many people who enjoyed our VR location-based entertainment attractions found at theme parks, theaters, and more.

Spaces, which was originally part of DreamWorks Animation, created VR experiences that could be found in Spaces locations in malls and other places across the United States. One of the VR experiences was "Terminator Salvation: Fight for the Future."

Due to the pandemic, Spaces had to shut down all of its physical VR centers, laying off many staff members. Spaces then created VR experiences for video conferencing solutions like Zoom, letting Zoom users join meetings with animated avatars.

Samsung at the beginning of August introduced its new flagship Galaxy Note20 smartphone, which will compete with Apple's upcoming iPhone 12 models. We're going to do an in-depth comparison when the ‌iPhone‌ 12 comes out, but for now, we thought we'd take a look at the new Galaxy Note20 to highlight some of its best features.

Displays with 120Hz Refresh Rates

Samsung's Galaxy lineup, including the Galaxy Note20, is known for sharp, vibrant OLED displays with minimal bezels. The Note20, like some prior Samsung models, has a 120Hz refresh rate option that makes that super sharp OLED display even better. It's super smooth, as people who own an iPad Pro might be familiar with because Apple has had 120Hz maximum refresh rates on the ‌iPad Pro‌ for a couple years now.

Samsung hasn't quite perfected the higher refresh rate and it still presumably has a major impact on battery life, which is why it's limited to Full High Definition resolution (1080p) and does not work when the phone is set to the higher QHD+ resolution (1440p).

Apple is rumored to be working on 120Hz display technology for the ‌iPhone‌, but as with Samsung's phones, battery life is a concern. There have been a lot of mixed rumors on whether the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup will support 120Hz ProMotion displays, but it may be a feature that Apple needs to wait to implement until there's more battery efficient LTPO display technology available. It's definitely a feature that's on the horizon, but we may not get it until 2021.

Wireless Powershare

For the past couple of years, Samsung devices have offered a Wireless Powershare feature, which is also included in the Note20. With Wireless Powershare toggled on, the Note20 becomes a Qi-based wireless charger and can provide power to other smartphones, headphones, smart watches, and more.

It would be nice to have this feature in an ‌iPhone‌ for charging up the Apple Watch and the AirPods, or even sharing power with other iPhones. There were actually rumors in 2019 that suggested the ‌iPhone‌ 11 lineup would include bilateral charging functionality, but it's not something that Apple ended up implementing.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo speculated that the charging efficiency of the two-way charging feature might not have met Apple's requirements, leading to it being scrapped. Whether this is a feature that will pop up in a future ‌iPhone‌ remains to be seen, but we haven't heard it rumored for the ‌iPhone‌ 12.

Multitasking Windows

Samsung's Galaxy devices have long offered a version of split screen multitasking, allowing multiple apps to be used at once, and the Galaxy Note20 is no exception. It's a useful feature on the 6.7 to 6.9-inch displays offered in the Note20 and Note20 Ultra.

Apple has long had a split view multitasking feature on the iPad, but multiple app usage has never been brought to the ‌iPhone‌. That made sense when iPhones were smaller, but now that ‌iPhone‌ displays are getting larger and larger, many ‌iPhone‌ users would likely prefer to be able to use two apps side by side.

In iOS 14, Apple did add Picture in Picture support so you can watch videos or make video calls while doing other things on the ‌iPhone‌, but there's still no true multitasking functionality.

S-Pen

The S-Pen stylus that comes with the Galaxy Note has long been what differentiates the Note lineup from the standard Galaxy devices. The S-Pen is pretty much akin to an Apple Pencil for the ‌iPad‌, with super low latency and some useful note taking features.

The S-Pen attaches right to the Galaxy Note20, and popping it out lets you automatically start writing a note even when the display is off. The S-Pen also lets you do things like create a note, write on the screen, select elements on the display, translate selected text, and more.

There's been a rumor here and there over the years that Apple might add ‌Apple Pencil‌ support to the ‌iPhone‌ or develop an ‌Apple Pencil‌ specific to the ‌iPhone‌, but there's never been any concrete suggestion that a stylus for the ‌iPhone‌ is the plan. It would be nice to have the option to use the ‌Apple Pencil‌ with the ‌iPhone‌, though, for those who already have an ‌iPad‌ and an ‌Apple Pencil‌.

DEX

Samsung devices have this neat feature called DEX that lets you dock a smartphone to a PC or a Mac to turn the smartphone into the computer, allowing for direct control with a mouse and a keyboard.

Early versions of DEX required a dock and an external monitor and keyboard, but now you can just plug a smartphone like the Note20 into a computer and finish working on something that you started on the phone.

Apple has Handoff and Continuity features that work in much the same way if you have multiple Apple devices, letting you start something on one device and pick it up on another, but that's limited to Apple devices and it would be nice to just be able to plug in to access what you need without having to fuss with Continuity, or connect to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse for a MacBook-like experience on the ‌iPhone‌.

Would you like to see any of these Samsung features in the ‌iPhone‌? What's your favorite Galaxy Note20 feature that you wish Apple would implement? Let us know in the comments.

Apple has started informing retail employees that it plans to reopen some of the Apple retail locations that have been closed twice over because of the continued spread of the coronavirus, reports Bloomberg.

There's no word on which stores will be reopening at this time, but employees have been told to expect imminent store openings this week. After the initial COVID-19 lockdown, Apple began reopening stores in May, but began shutting them down again in late June and early July as outbreaks spiked.

As with other store locations that have reopened or remained open amid the pandemic, Apple is implementing safety measures. Masks will be required inside the store and the number of people allowed inside the store at one time will be limited to allow for social distancing.

Apple also conducts temperature checks, has rearranged stores to keep distance between employees, and conducts frequent cleanings. Most of the stores that are reopening will be operating on an appointment-only basis for the immediate future, employees were told.

Over the course of the last few months, Apple has been forced to shut down more than 100 of its retail locations. During the closures, retail employees have been reassigned to online sales and support positions. Reassigned workers will remain in those roles at the current time, but Apple has warned that they could be moved back to their retail stores based on the needs of each individual location.

Apple will soon be gearing up for fall product launches that will include the debut of new iPhones, Apple Watch models, iPads, Macs, and more.

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Nine years ago today, on August 24, 2011, Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO for the final time. Jobs was immediately named Apple's chairman, with then-COO Tim Cook taking over leadership of the company.

Jobs sadly passed away just six weeks later, on October 5, one day after Apple introduced the iPhone 4s with Siri. He was 56. His death resulted in an outpouring of condolences from family, friends, colleagues, Apple fans, and notable figures around the world, ranging from Steve Wozniak to Bill Gates to former President Barack Obama.

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," said Cook. "Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Apple under Cook has grown to become the world's most valuable company. While nothing has truly compared to the iPhone, perhaps the most successful consumer product of all time, one major device introduced during Cook's tenure is the Apple Watch, praised for its life-saving features like the ECG app, Emergency SOS calling, and fall detection.

Cook has previously said that Jobs' DNA will always be the foundation of Apple, which named the Steve Jobs Theater after him in 2017.

Apple may delay the iPhone 12 Pro launch due to supply chain issues with the 120Hz display, or face cancelling the feature entirely, according to display analyst Ross Young and leaker Jon Prosser.

Young explained via a Tweet that Apple is facing supply chain issues with obtaining 120Hz display driver ICs for the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, even though it can get the correct 120Hz panels. Apple would, therefore, have to postpone the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro launch to wait for the correct driver ICs, or ship the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro without a 120Hz display. To avoid this delay, Young expects Apple to opt for standard 60Hz displays on the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro.

Young speculates that the late-stage display issues facing the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro may be explained by 120Hz not being part of the original plans for the device. He does, however, propose the possibility of Apple delaying the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro launch date until the 120Hz display is ready to ship. It is unclear how long such a delay may be. In July, Apple confirmed that it is expecting to release this year's iPhones later than usual.

The matter is "not a simple issue in this case," Young said. "Apple can move mountains, so will see. Given how badly some of you want 120Hz, perhaps they are listening will delay the launch until 120Hz is ready". Young's analysis was today largely corroborated by leaker Jon Prosser, who concurs reports of Apple continuing to internally debate the status of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro's 120Hz display.

"Behind the scenes, Apple is still testing 120Hz, ProMotion, for ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro. Specifically, at least, in this case with my sources, the 12 Pro Max," said Prosser via a video on Front Page Tech uploaded today. "120Hz is working just fine, with a manual toggle in settings on the iPhone 12 Pro Max."

ProMotion technology on the ‌iPad Pro‌ is able to dynamically adjust the display to the movement of content, resulting in more fluid scrolling, smoother motion, and improved responsiveness. The frame rate changes based on the content on the screen, preserving battery life. Prosser encouraged his followers, "don't give up on 120Hz on 12 Pro yet..."

Reports surrounding a potential 120Hz display have been extremely mixed, with some leakers such as "Ice Universe" and Max Weinbach suggesting that the feature is set to arrive with the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro. Prosser has also previously discussed the likelihood of ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro models sporting ProMotion displays.

In July, Young reported that none of his contacts were able to corroborate rumors that the ‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ Pro models will feature 120Hz displays, with his sources instead indicating 120Hz technology will be coming in the 2021 ‌iPhone‌ refresh. Young has instead suggested that Apple will implement ProMotion in 2021 alongside the adoption of low-power LTPO displays which will allow for a variable refresh rate that preserves battery life.

It is unusual for Apple to be facing uncertainty with major features at such a late stage, with launch expected next month. As a 120Hz display is not an integral design feature of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, it would likely be easier to roll back plans to include the feature on this fall's devices.

The uncertainty regarding the refresh rate of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro's display means that it is extremely difficult to say how things may pan out, but these reports cast serious doubt over the chances of a 120Hz display coming to market on the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro this year. At minimum, it appears that Apple is struggling to ship the feature with the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro.

Last week, we reported on a severe new kind of Mac malware that has been found to infect via Xcode, discovered by security researchers at Trend Micro.

In an exclusive interview with MacRumors, the security researchers behind the discovery, Oleksandr Shatkivskyi and Vlad Felenuik, have provided more information about their research.

The malware, which is part of the XCSSET family, is "an unusual infection" that is injected into Xcode projects. When the project is built, the malicious code is run. This can lead to "a rabbit hole of malicious payloads," and poses a significant risk to Mac users.

Specifically, the malware was found to be capable of abusing Safari and other browsers to steal data. It can use a vulnerability to read and dump cookies, create backdoors in JavaScript, and in turn modify displayed websites, steal private banking information and passwords, and block password changes. It was also found to be able to steal information from apps such as Evernote, Notes, Skype, Telegram, QQ, and WeChat, take screenshots, upload files to the attacker's specified server, encrypt files, and display a ransom note.

Shatkivskyi and Felenuik told MacRumors that they believe the XCSSET malware will become extremely common among bad actors who seek to exploit Mac systems. The malware is particularly dangerous because verification methods, such as checking hashes, would not identify infection. It was found to be present in projects shared on GitHub. This means that developers who rely on repositories could face a supply-chain attack and be unaware that their project has become infected.

Xcode projects infected with the malware can create maliciously modified applications, unbeknownst to the developers who make the apps, and may then distribute them as trojans. Shatkivskyi and Felenuik believe that the Mac App Store review team will be largely unable to detect apps that contain the XCSSET malware. "As an iOS developer I know how easy it is to fool them and release an app with hidden features," Shatkivskyi said.

Shatkivskyi and Felenuik first approached Apple about the issue as early as December 2019, and they hope that Apple will be decisive and swift in its response to resolving the vulnerability. They suggest that Apple could implement privacy notifications, the likes of which came to iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, to alert Mac users when the malware is active on their systems, in an effort to explicitly alert users to a potential breach.

Shatkivskyi and Felenuik did not have access to a Mac Developer Transition Kit with Apple Silicon for testing, but they believe "there is no doubt that the malware will work" on Macs running Apple Silicon. In spite of the severity of the XCSSET malware, they maintain that macOS is a safe operating system and are optimistic about the future of combating malware.

"Apple have some work to do, but still macOS is the most secure platform available. I am delighted by how Apple stands for privacy. However, I am sure that malware development will get almost impossible in the future. But it has nothing to do with the Mac transition to Apple silicon."

Going forward, the researchers caution Mac users to be alert for unusual activity with permission alerts. Any repeated or suspicious notifications asking for permissions on macOS may be an indication of an infection. Trend Micro encourages users to consider multilayered security solutions.

"In order to stay safe, you have to be somewhat paranoid. Don't allow any app to record your screen. Also, pay attention to what is running on your Mac. I never use any pirated software due to its insecurity, I use only licensed ones," Shatkivskyi said.

The pair continue to actively research other threats to macOS.

Apple today confirmed that its second-generation iPhone SE is now being assembled in India for orders placed within the country.

In a statement shared with The Times of India, Apple said "iPhone SE packs our most powerful chip into our most popular size at our most affordable price and we're excited to be making it in India for our local customers."

The new iPhone SE is being assembled by Wistron at its facility in Bengaluru, according to the report. Wistron also assembles iPhone 7 models in India, and in the past, it has assembled the original iPhone SE and the iPhone 6s in the country. Last week, it was reported that Wistron could start assembling iPhone 12 models in India next year as well.

Apple's largest manufacturing partner Foxconn has also made a push into India, where it now assembles iPhone 11 and iPhone XR models.

Wistron and Foxconn are among a growing number of Apple suppliers that have shifted more production to countries like India and Vietnam amid the U.S.-China trade war. Foxconn, which reportedly plans to invest up to $1 billion to expand its Indian operations, recently said that China's "days as the world's factory are done."

Foxconn and Pegatron are among several companies eyeing new factories in Mexico as well, possibly for iPhone assembly, according to Reuters.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple today announced that it will donate $10 to the National Park Foundation for each purchase made with Apple Pay on Apple.com, through the Apple Store app, or at an Apple Store in the United States from August 24 through August 30. Apple is limiting its donations to the first 100,000 transactions of $10 or more.

The National Park Foundation, the official charitable partner of the National Park Service, raises funds to directly support, protect, and manage America's national parks.

"Our national parks strengthen our connection to nature, to one another, and to the soul of our nation," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "We're excited to continue building on our four-year partnership with the National Park Foundation, and to support their work to preserve our parks for generations to come."

As noted by Kyle Seth Gray, there will also be a national parks-themed Activity Challenge for Apple Watch users on August 30. Users can earn the award by completing a hike, walk, run, or wheelchair workout of a mile (1.6km) or longer. The workout can be completed from any location, so visiting a national park is not necessary.

Update: In a press release tied to this announcement, Apple has also indicated that it is making special national parks content available in the Apple TV app, Apple Music, and the App Store.

The Apple TV app will feature a national parks highlight on the Watch Now page, including "Aerial America" from the Smithsonian Channel, along with other relevant shows and movies that explore and celebrate the natural world. In the App Store, customers can check out a collection of its most popular apps for safely exploring the outdoors, including AllTrails: Hike, Bike & Run (AllTrails, Inc.), National Park Trail Guide (Adventure Projects Inc.), PeakVisor (Routes Software SRL), and other guides to parks and trails around the world. And Apple Music will feature its updated Nature Awaits playlist, so even if users can't make it out to the parks, they can hit play and let their imaginations wander.

Billie Eilish, Orville Peck, Megan Thee Stallion, and Anderson Paak are among the artists featured in a colorful new Apple Music ad shared on YouTube over the weekend. The video is titled "Worldwide," reflecting Apple Music's availability in 165 countries.

"Apple Music brings you closer than ever to iconic artists, rising stars, new discoveries, and legendary entertainers," the video description says.

Launched in 2015, the newly renamed Apple Music 1 is a 24-hour live radio station broadcast by Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden, and other DJs out of studios in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and London. Apple describes the station as "the center for pop culture conversation and artist-led programming, and the global destination for artists from around the world to release new music, break news, and speak directly to their fans."

After becoming the first U.S. company to reach a market capitalization of $2 trillion last week, Apple's stock continues to soar as investors pour money into the company. Apple's stock officially opened this morning above the $500 mark, up another 3.5% to $515.

Apple and other tech heavyweights have seen their share prices rise significantly since market lows in March, with Apple more than doubling from its low of $224.

Apple's time as a $500+ stock will be short-lived even if it doesn't drop due to market trading, as the company's four-for-one stock split will take place at the close of trading on Friday, lowering Apple's share price to around $125. Apple's overall market value will be unchanged, however, as shareholders will receive three additional shares for each share they currently own.

Amazon is now matching the price of the AirPods Pro that we've been tracking at Verizon over the past few weeks, allowing customers to purchase the noise-cancelling headphones for $219.99, down from $249.00.

The AirPods Pro have gone down to a slightly lower price of $214 in new condition this year, but this $30 discount remains the most consistent sale, and it should be easier for more people to take advantage of thanks to Amazon.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

No discount code is required to get the deal, and Amazon has the AirPods Pro in stock so shipping should be within the next few days. Amazon also includes 90 days of Amazon Music Unlimited for free with the purchase of the AirPods Pro.

AirPods Pro are Apple's high-end headphones, with support for Active Noise Cancellation. The AirPods Pro also have overall better sound quality than the AirPods, and custom silicone ear-tips that provide a more snug fit for different ear sizes.

We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.

Apple's South Korea business has offered to make a 100 billion won ($84 million) payout to support small businesses and help consumers, according to the country's competition watchdog (via Reuters).

The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) investigated Apple Korea in 2016 for requiring SK Telecom, KT Corp, and LG Uplus Corp to pay the cost of television advertisements and warranty service for its iPhones. The probe found that Apple holds a clear advantage over local mobile carriers and that handing over the cost of advertisements was another means of squeezing the profits of the carriers.

In June of this year, the antitrust regulator decided to allow Apple to map out a set of measures to address its anti-competitive business practices in the country, and Apple has now agreed to fix unfair terms with mobile carriers as part of its proposal. Apple said it will discuss how to share advertising costs with telecoms firms, which will help reduce burdens to carriers, the KFTC said in a briefing.

Apple has reportedly pledged to offer 40 billion won ($34 million) to build a center to support research and development for Korea's small manufacturers and 25 billion won ($21 million) to establish an "academy" to provide education to developers. The rest of the 100 billion won would be used to give consumer discounts on warranty repair costs and other benefits, according to Reuters.

Provided the KFTC accepts Apple's offer, the regulator will close the case and conclude that Apple has not done anything illegal.

Even if that does happen though, Apple could be facing another probe by Korean regulators for its business practices. Last week, an alliance of app developers and small companies submitted a petition to the Korea Communications Commission asking for an investigation into whether Apple and Google may be violating Korean laws on in-app purchases and anti-competitive behavior.

A group of WeChat users has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in an effort to block an executive order that would ban the app in the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this month, President Trump signed two executive orders that would officially ban any U.S. transactions with ByteDance and Tencent, the Chinese companies that own TikTok and WeChat, respectively. The order will be enacted on September 20, but TikTok can avoid a ban if an American company can agree a deal to acquire its U.S. operations before that date.

Filed by the WeChat Users Alliance and several other plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the lawsuit claims the executive order to ban WeChat is unconstitutional and violates the right to free speech. It also claims the ban illegally targets Chinese-Americans who use WeChat to communicate with Chinese citizens. An attorney for the group, which is made up of people who depend on WeChat for personal and business purposes, says it is hoping that the Trump administration will have to clarify which WeChat transactions would be subject to the ban.

WeChat is extremely popular with Chinese mobile device users, essentially operating as its own platform on top of iOS and Android for many users, but the app is also widely used around the world and has over 1.2 billion monthly active users.

It's still unclear whether the ban applies to the WeChat app only in the United States or if it will result in the removal of the WeChat app from iPhones across the globe. At any rate, any ban would be bad news for Apple. In a worst-case scenario, Apple's annual global iPhone shipments could decline by 25–30% if it is forced to remove WeChat from its App Stores around the world, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a Weibo survey, 95 percent of the 1.2 million people who responded said they would switch to an Android smartphone over an ‌‌iPhone‌‌ rather than give up WeChat.

Over the weekend, TikTok also confirmed it plans to sue the Trump administration over the executive order, perhaps as early as Monday. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is believed to be in talks with Microsoft about the software giant acquiring the app's U.S. operations. Other companies including Twitter are also reportedly in talks with TikTok.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.