MacRumors

Yesterday we reported on Microsoft's accelerated efforts to purchase TikTok in the United States before President Trump follows through on a threat to ban the Chinese-owned app in the country.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that China's ruling Communist Party blasted those efforts via an editorial in the China Daily newspaper, saying it will not accept the "theft" of a Chinese tech company and is ready to respond if needed.

The United States' "bullying" of Chinese tech companies was a consequence of Washington's zero-sum vision of "American first" and left China no choice but "submission or mortal combat in the tech realm," the state-backed paper said in an editorial.

China had "plenty of ways to respond if the administration carries out its planned smash and grab," it added.

There is increasing concern among observers that Apple would become the likely focus of any countermeasures by China. Apple journalist John Gruber notes that with Google and Facebook already banned in China, Apple would be the obvious tit-for-tat target.

The Global Times, which is another Chinese government mouthpiece, reported in May that China could put Apple on an "unreliable entity list" alongside other U.S. companies, in a series of punitive countermeasures the country was prepared to take against U.S. moves to block Taiwan-based TSMC from selling chips to Huawei for its phones.

According to comments made last year by a Chinese ministry of commerce official, once a company is added to China's "unreliable entity list" it would face necessary legal and administrative measures and the Chinese public would also be warned against dealing with it to reduce risks.

In its latest editorial, however, The Global Times took a less threatening tone and said that U.S. treatment of ByteDance and Huawei was indicative of U.S. efforts to separate its economy from China's.

The paper said China had "limited ability" to give the Chinese companies protection by retaliating against U.S. companies because the United States had technological superiority and influence with its allies. Instead, it suggested that China's opening-up to the outside world and ending its strategy of decoupling with the U.S. should be priorities.

On Monday evening, President Trump reiterated that TikTok must sell off its U.S. operations in 45 days and that the deal must include a substantial payment to the U.S. government, otherwise the app would be banned.

"I don't mind whether it's Microsoft or someone else, a big company, a secure company, a very American company buys it," said Trump, according to Bloomberg.

"It'll close down on 15 September unless Microsoft or somebody else is able to buy it and work out a deal, an appropriate deal, so the Treasury of the United States gets a lot of money," he added.

Trump stopped short of explaining how the federal government had the authority to demand a cut of a transaction between two companies neither of which it has a stake in. It also remains unclear how a ban of TikTok would be enforced.

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.

WhatsApp is rolling out a new way for users to fact-check forwarded messages for misinformation, after several months testing the new feature.

From today, messages that have been forwarded through a chain of five or more people will display a magnifying glass button alongside them in the chat thread.

Users who tap the button will be asked if they want to search the web to try and find news results or other sources of information about the content they have received.

WhatsApp says the feature works by allowing users to upload the message via their browser without WhatsApp ever seeing the message itself.

The ability is being piloted starting today in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. for everyone on the latest versions of WhatsApp for Android, iOS and WhatsApp Web.

The feature is the latest in a series of attempts by WhatsApp to slow the spread of misinformation on the chat platform. In April, for example, it imposed new restrictions on the mass forwarding of messages, so that if a user receives a message that has been forwarded more than five times, they will only be able to send it on to a single chat at a time.

The move comes after several hoaxes went viral on the platform, including false stories about the ongoing global pandemic one of which linked the outbreak to the rollout of 5G networks.

DigiTimes issued a report today highlighting Apple's apparent efforts to build a supply chain consisting entirely of China-based makers in order to manufacture iPhones specifically for the Chinese market.

The assessment is based on recent aggressive moves by Apple suppliers Luxshare and Lens Technology to acquire metal chassis plants operated in China by Taiwan-based makers, a strategy that the US tech giant has reportedly been encouraging.

Luxshare, the largest assembler of AirPods, has newly joined the iPhone assembly chain by acquiring lower-end iPhone production lines in China from Taiwan's Wistron, the sources said. To further expand its presence in the iPhone supply chain, Luxshare also has been keenly seeking to take over metal chassis plants in China from Taiwan-based firms in the iPhone supply chain.

Taiwan's metal chassis maker Catcher Technology reportedly had planned to sell 30% of its stakes in its China plants to Luxshare, but talks over the deal were suspended after Luxshare began negotiating with Pegatron's affiliate Casetek Holdings over purchasing its metal chassis plants in China, according to DigiTimes' sources.

Later, Catcher reportedly was also in talks with China's handset cover glass maker Lens Technology on selling its plants in Suzhou to the Chinese maker, but the deal hit a snag over the acquisition price, the sources said.

The moves are believed to be part of Apple's efforts to recruit more Chinese suppliers that can provide lower-cost components for iPhones for the China market. Together with the lingering pressure of US-China trade tensions, such deals are increasingly being seen as part of Apple's wider plan to diversify overseas production bases, as demonstrated in recent reports that several Apple suppliers are actively seeking to set up production facilities in India.

Apple in iOS 14 plans to allow users to set a third-party app as the default email or browser app on an iPhone or iPad, replacing the current Apple-made default apps Safari and Mail.

Apple hasn't provided many details on the new feature to users, but as noted by MacStories' Federico Vittici, Apple has shared documentation with developers who want their apps to have the option to be set as a default email or browser app.

According to Apple, developers will need to meet certain guidelines and when those parameters have been met, there's an option to request a managed entitlement that will allow the app to work in lieu of Apple's own apps.

Default browser apps must provide a text field for entering a URL, search tools for finding relevant links on the internet, or curated lists of bookmarks. When opening a URL, apps must navigate directly to the specified destination and render the expected web content without redirecting to an unexpected location.

Apps designed with parental controls or a locked down mode can, however, restrict navigation. Email apps set as default must be able to send a message to any valid email recipient and must be able to receive a message from any email sender. Apple says that apps that offer user-controlled incoming mail screening features are allowed.

Third-party browser apps set as default will open up automatically when a URL is tapped instead of the Safari app, while third-party email apps will open when a mailto: link is tapped.

Apple's full documentation can be found on its developer website. Apps will need to be updated with entitlements to be able to be set as the default browser or mail app in iOS 14, so no apps have that functionality at the current time.

We should begin seeing apps able to replace Mail or Safari as default apps close to when iOS 14 launches this fall.

If you have a Mac and have seen a "Not Charging" warning when plugging it in to power, Apple last week released a support document that explains why.

Macs running macOS 10.15.5 or later have a Battery Health Management feature to preserve the life of the battery, and occasionally, the Battery Health Management option will cause the Mac to pause its charging for calibration purposes.

Depending on its settings, your Mac might temporarily pause charging to help calibrate battery health management, a feature designed to improve the lifespan of your battery.

Apple says that when Battery Health Management is activated, "Not Charging" could be displayed and the charge level might be lowered temporarily, which is a normal function of the feature. Charging to full will resume based on usage habits.

When battery health management is turned on, you might occasionally see "Not Charging" in the battery status menu of your Mac, and your battery's maximum charge level might be lowered temporarily. This is normal, and it's how battery health management optimizes charging. Your Mac resumes charging to 100 percent depending on your usage.

Battery Health Management features are available on Mac notebooks that have Thunderbolt 3 ports and that run macOS Catalina 10.15.5 or later. The option improves the lifespan of a Mac's battery by reducing the amount of time that the battery spends at a maximum charge, which can cut down on chemical aging.

Battery Health Management works based on the battery's temperature history and charging patterns, so if you often leave your Mac charging overnight after using it during the day, the Mac might charge up to around 85 percent and sit there for a bit before charging to full ahead of when it's needed in the morning.

If you use your Mac while Battery Health Management is active, you might see the "Not Charging" warning that Apple mentions. Battery Health Management is enabled by default, but it can be turned off by checking the Battery Health Management option in the Energy Saver section of the System Preferences app once ‌macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.5 or later has been installed.

There are some other reasons that Mac users might see the "Not Charging" warning, such as when the Mac isn't getting enough power to charge the battery. In these situations, Apple recommends people follow the steps in its support document covering charging with a USB-C power adapter.

Apple shipped an estimated 14.3 million iPads in the second quarter of 2020, maintaining its position as the number one tablet vendor in the world, according to new data shared today by Canalys. That's up 19.8 percent from the 11.9 million sold in the year-ago quarter.

Apple's own earnings for Q2 2020 indicated a major surge in iPad sales as people work and learn from home. Apple does not provide details on the number of iPads sold or a model breakdown, but iPad sales brought in $6.5 billion during the quarter.

Apple has long been the number one tablet vendor in the world, and in Q2 2020, held 38 percent market share. Samsung was the number two tablet vendor worldwide, shipping 7 million tablets, followed by Huawei, Amazon, and Lenovo with 4.7 million, 3.2 million, and 2.8 million tablets shipped, respectively.

The overall worldwide tablet PC market grew by 26 percent in Q2 2020, which Canalys attributes to remote work.

Worldwide tablet shipments hit 37.5 million units in Q2 2020, a remarkable 26% year-on-year increase. Tablets, part of the PC market, had faltered in recent years, but demand in Q2 2020 was boosted by consumers and businesses wanting affordable access to basic computing power and larger screens to facilitate remote work, learning and leisure. Vendors were able to ramp up production to meet this renewed demand. At the same time, retailers and carriers in various markets provided financial incentives on devices and data to encourage tablet purchases.

Canalys also provided data on worldwide PC shipments, with tablet data included. When accounting for combined Mac and ‌iPad‌ sales, Apple shipped 19.6 million devices during the quarter for 17.7 percent market share, trailing after Lenovo with 20.2 million devices shipped and beating out HP and Dell with 18 million and 12 million devices shipped, respectively.

Apple's Mac earnings were also way up, bringing in $7 billon, $1.2 billion more than the $5.8 billion in Macs sold in Q2 2019. During Apple's most recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that supply constraints affected both Mac and ‌iPad‌ sales during the quarter. Some Macs, such as the iMac, have had long shipment estimates since soon after the pandemic began.

Apple is working to get more iPads and Macs into the hands of customers, so sales are expected to see continued growth in the fourth quarter.

Microsoft's Office 2016 for Mac is set to reach its end of support date on October 13, 2020, and after that date, connecting to Office 365 services using the Office 2016 for Mac software will no longer be supported.

Microsoft shared the detail in a support document from July highlighting which versions of Office will be supported for connecting to Office 365 services in the future.

Connecting to Office 365 services using Office 2016 for Mac isn't supported after October 13, 2020. That's because Office 2016 for Mac reaches end of support on that date.

Microsoft Office 2016 for Windows, Microsoft Office 2019, Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, and Microsoft Apps for business will all continue to work with Office 365.

According to Microsoft, no active measures will be taken to block other versions of the Office client, like Office 2013, but older clients could encounter performance or reliability issues over time.

This suggests that connecting to Office 365 services using Office for Mac 2016 could potentially work after the deadline, but it's not entirely clear if that will be the case.

Office 2016 for Mac users who rely on Microsoft's products and services can purchase Office 2019 for $150 or subscribe to Microsoft 365 Personal for $70 per year. Office 2019 will be supported through 2023.

Google today announced the launch of its latest smartphone, the Pixel 4a, which has a $349 price tag and is designed to compete with lower-cost devices like Apple's $399 iPhone SE.

The Pixel 4a features a 5.81-inch display that's all screen, with a small front-facing pinhole camera at the top left, a square-shaped camera bump at the rear, and fingerprint biometrics on the back.

Design wise, the display is much larger than the ‌iPhone SE‌'s display, which is modeled after the 4.7-inch iPhone 8. The ‌iPhone SE‌ also features a fingerprint button, but it is at the front in a thick bottom bezel.

Apple is actually rumored to be working on a new version of the ‌iPhone SE‌ called the iPhone SE Plus that would have an all-display design similar to Apple's more expensive iPhones, with a fingerprint sensor built into the power button. The ‌iPhone SE‌ Plus won't be coming until 2021, though.

Along with an all-display design and a larger form factor, the Pixel 4a is equipped with an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor and Titan M security chip, 6GB RAM, a single-lens 12.2-megapixel camera, 128GB storage, and a 3,140mAh battery.

The ‌iPhone SE‌ is equipped with a 12-megapixel camera too, but it's an older camera originally introduced in the ‌iPhone‌ 8, and it doesn't have Night Sight like Google's model. It does handily outperform the Snapdragon 730 processor with its A13 chip.

The Pixel 4a also has some Android goodies, such as the new Google Assistant experience that was first rolled out with the Pixel 4. Google promises three years of updates for the Pixel 4a, while the ‌iPhone SE‌ is likely to see four to five years of support.

We've got a Pixel 4a on the way and plan on doing an in-depth comparison with the ‌iPhone SE‌ later this week, so make sure to keep an eye out for that video. For those interested, the Pixel 4a can be pre-ordered from Google's website as of today.

Mobile banking service Boon today announced it will be discontinuing service on October 3, 2020, as noted by iPhone-Ticker.de. Boon was an Apple Pay partner in several European countries, offering virtual credit cards for contactless payments.

This news comes shortly after Boon's parent company Wirecard filed for insolvency following a series of accounting scandals.

Boon has shared a FAQ with more details for customers.

There's still money in your boon.Account?

Then we recommend the following steps:

Spend all your funds in a timely manner
To make sure that you have the exact amount to pay for whatever you’d like to spend your money on, top up your account with the missing difference
You can use your boon.Card to pay online or contactless in shops just like you’re used to
As soon as your account balance is 0 and all transactions are being shown as “processed”, you can close your account yourself with the push of a button
To make sure you don’t inadvertently top up your account, we have already deactivated the auto top-up feature for you.

Of course, your service team can also return any remaining funds to your bank account directly. Please bear in mind, though, that our service team is already dealing with a high number of requests. We’re counting on your support and cooperation, so that you don’t have to wait for your money and our colleagues can focus on those customers, for whom this doesn’t work as smoothly as we expect

How long is the app still working?

You will likely have until 3rd of October 2020 to clear your boon.Account, but even following this date, you are entitled to get your money back. From 4th of October 2020, we will charge a monthly fee of 2.50 €/GBP/CHF on existing credit until it is completely used up. Therefore, please use it up promptly. Please have a look at our FAQs for more information.

An unspecified Apple supplier is planning to move a significant amount of production operations to India, according to The Times of India.

The unnamed Apple contract manufacturer is expected to shift six production lines in total, with the aim of accommodating the export of $5 billion worth of devices from India. Establishment of a new facility for these new Indian production lines is expected to generate employment for around 55,000 workers over the period of a year. It will begin manufacturing iPhones, but may expand to other devices in the coming years.

Apple suppliers Wistron, Pegatron, Foxconn, and Samsung, are all expected to set up production facilities in India. These vendors are expected to be joined by Indian vendors Dixon Lava and Micromax in supplying Apple.

Foxconn announced last month that it was planning to invest as much as $1 billion in India, and has already established its first manufacturing plant in India. Last month, Apple started making iPhone 11 at the Foxconn plant in India. This was the first time a top-of-the-line model was been manufactured in the country.

Many companies are planning to diversify their supply chains in an effort to reduce dependence on China, which has come under increased scrutiny amid the global health crisis and trade war with the United States.

The Indian government has motivated production with the "production-linked incentive" (PLI) scheme, designed to attract companies with large-scale requirements for electronic components and semiconductors. The government has pledged up to six percent of costs of locally produced goods over the next five years. 22 companies from various countries, including Taiwan, South Korea, and Germany, have already applied to the PLI scheme. There have been no applications from Chinese companies. The scheme has already exceeded the government's manufacturing revenue target.

India is the second-largest smartphone market, but Apple has generally struggled to establish a substantial foothold in the country in the past. Apple almost entirely sells China-made devices‌ in India, but increasing local production would take advantage of the government's "Made in India" initiative, which could see Apple save as much as 22 percent on import duties and give it the option to reduce prices. Should Apple's supply chain expansion into India be successful, it may begin using the country as an "export hub."

Panera Bread today announced that it now offers customers 3% Daily Cash when they use the Apple Card with Apple Pay for purchases in the Panera app, on Panera.com, and at its restaurants across the United States.

Panera Bread is the first restaurant to offer 3% Daily Cash, with other participating brands including Apple, Nike, T-Mobile, Uber, Uber Eats, Duane Reade, Walgreens, and Exxon and Mobil gas stations. Daily Cash is automatically added to the Apple Cash card in the Wallet app, or it can be applied as a credit on your ‌Apple Card‌ statement balance.

This news confirms a 3% Daily Cash banner in the Panera app spotted by Appleosophy a few weeks ago. All other merchants offer 2% Daily Cash when using the ‌Apple Card‌ with ‌Apple Pay‌, while the physical ‌Apple Card‌ provides 1% Daily Cash.

You can get Apple's AirPods with Wireless Charging Case for $139.98 on Amazon this week, down from $199.00. This sale represents a new low price for this model of Apple's 2019 Airpods.

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.

This version includes Apple's Wireless Charging Case for the AirPods, allowing you to refuel the headphones on any Qi-compatible charging mat. AirPods support up to 5 hours of listening time on one charge, and the Wireless Charging Case provides around 24 hours of extra battery life.

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.

After rumors of a potential deal arose last week, Microsoft has publicly confirmed its intention to purchase TikTok in the United States and several other territories.

The company has outlined its intention to "move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks." The two companies have provided formal notice of their intent to explore a preliminary proposal that would involve a purchase of TikTok in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in these markets. Microsoft has also entertained the idea of inviting other American investors to participate on a minority basis in the purchase.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke directly to President Donald Trump to discuss the potential purchase, and the President is understood to be personally involved as plans take shape. On Friday night, Trump reportedly said "As far as TikTok is concerned we're banning them from the United States." Trump said at this time that he did not support a deal between ByteDance and Microsoft, but since seems to have changed his position.

TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny by the U.S. government due to security concerns. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which can theoretically be compelled by Chinese law to hand over all collected user data. TikTok gathers a large amount of user data, and has raised considerable worries regarding censorship and privacy.

Microsoft says that it is "committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury." The operating model for TikTok under Microsoft would supposedly be built to ensure transparency to users as well as appropriate security oversight by governments in these territories, adding "world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections."

"Among other measures, Microsoft would ensure that all private data of TikTok's American users is transferred to and remains in the United States. To the extent that any such data is currently stored or backed-up outside the United States, Microsoft would ensure that this data is deleted from servers outside the country after it is transferred," Microsoft said.

TikTok is continuing to restructure its business operations in the West in an attempt to allay fears. The Sun reports today that the British ministers have approved plans to allow ByteDance to move its headquarters from Beijing to London. The move "risks a major row with Donald Trump," according to The Sun. The United Kingdom is not a jurisdiction included in the potential Microsoft deal, leaving British TikTok users subject to Chinese corporate data laws.

The discussions between ByteDance and Microsoft will reportedly complete no later than September 15. Negotiations are still preliminary, and there is "no assurance" that a deal will proceed. Microsoft has said that it will not provide a further update until there is a definitive outcome.

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 has been hit with a $1.4 billion lawsuit by a Chinese artificial intelligence company that alleges Apple violated a patent it owns for a virtual assistant similar to Siri, according to a paywalled Wall Street Journal report.

Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co. said in a statement on Monday it was suing Apple for an estimated 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) in damages in a Shanghai court, alleging the iPhone and iPad maker's products violated a patent the Chinese company owns for a virtual assistant whose technical architecture is similar to Siri. Siri, a voice-activated function in Apple's smartphones and laptops, allows users to dictate text messages or set alarms on their devices.

As part of the lawsuit, Shanghai Zhizhen, also known as Xiao-i, wants Apple to cease "manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and importing" all products that it says infringe on the patent, which was ruled as valid by China's Supreme Court in late June.

Apple didn't immediately respond to WSJ's request for comment.

The patent ruling is the culmination of several court trials between Zhi Zhen and Apple that's been ongoing for nearly a decade. MacRumors first reported on the Chinese AI firm's claim that ‌Siri‌ infringes on its patent rights in March 2013. The claim is specifically in relation to Xiao-i, a chat robot system the Zhi Zhen has been developing since 2003.

The Xiao-i bot began life as a chat bot for MSN and similar networks, but it has since migrated to a number of platforms including Android and iOS, and evolved to look quite similar to ‌Siri‌. Zhi Zhen applied for the virtual assistant patent in 2004 and it was granted in 2009.

‌Siri‌ was acquired by Apple in April 2010 under the direction of Steve Jobs, but Apple's first notion of a digital personal assistant was originally a concept video in 1987, called the Knowledge Navigator.

Investor Warren Buffett's stake in Apple has tripled in value to be worth over $100 billion, reports BusinessInsider.

The Berkshire Hathaway CEO spent $35 billion to acquire 250 million Apple shares between 2016 and 2018, according to his 2019 shareholder letter. Buffett has since sold some of his Apple holdings, and at last count owned 245 million shares, worth more than $104 billion.

Apple's third-quarter earnings pushed its stock price up by 10 percent to an intraday all-time high of $425 on Friday, raising its market capitalization to more than $1.8 trillion, making it the world's most valuable company. Both revenue and earnings per share were also June quarter records.

Apple's stock price dropped as low as $224 in March as concerns rose over the global health crisis, but has experienced a strong recovery since then, rising by over 80 percent in the last four months. Many other large tech companies, such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google parent company Alphabet, have experienced similar surges. Apple stock has increased by around 42% this year, growing Buffett's stake by $30 billion in the past seven months alone.

Apple is the largest investment held in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, and worth more than four times as much as its second-largest holding; a $25 billion stake in Bank of America. Berkshire Hathaway's market capitalization currently sits at about $476 billion, suggesting its 5.7% stake in Apple accounts for more than a fifth of its entire value.

The value of the firm's Apple stake relative to the rest of its portfolio highlights the extent to which investors are increasingly favoring tech companies and neglecting more traditional businesses such as banks and insurers.