The EU’s new battery exemption for smartwatches and wearables like Apple Watch and AirPods emerged from U.S. lobbying pressure over Meta’s smart glasses, not Apple-led efforts. The exemption recognizes that opening sealed devices risks water damage and that redesigning them for user-replaceable batteries would compromise their core functionality.
Apple Intelligence finally cleared Chinese regulatory review, but here’s the twist: it won’t run on Apple’s own AI models. Instead, Alibaba’s Qwen will power the feature across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS for Chinese users, with Baidu contributing at a smaller scale—a partnership that signals Apple’s pragmatic approach to the world’s largest smartphone market.
The EU exempted sealed-battery wearables like Apple Watch and AirPods from upcoming battery regulations, citing risks of device destruction and water damage. The 2027 rule would have forced manufacturers to make batteries user-replaceable, but smartwatches and earbuds won a reprieve.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by child sexual abuse survivors against Apple over CSAM on iCloud, citing Section 230 protections. The ruling prompted the judge to directly criticize Congress for outdated internet liability laws written in 1996.
Apple’s China shipments surged 24.4% year-over-year in Q2 2026 while the overall market shrank, capturing market share by holding prices flat as Android competitors raised theirs. The company then signaled future price increases, creating urgency that turned a sluggish market into a buying frenzy.
Apple’s iPhone shipments in China surged 24.4% year-over-year in Q2 2026, making it the fastest-growing major smartphone brand despite the market contracting 4.3%. The growth was driven by buyers rushing to purchase before announced price increases, creating a pull-forward effect that boosted Apple’s market share to 18.1%.
Apple’s notarization process failed to stop credential-stealing Mac malware from reaching users. Security researchers discovered CrashStealer was approved and notarized by Apple before the company revoked the developer credentials—exposing the gap between automated checks and real-world threats.
Apple alleges OpenAI designed interviews to extract confidential information from Apple candidates before hiring them. The lawsuit claims this systematic intelligence gathering—not just typical employee mobility—poses structural risks to Apple’s unreleased products and proprietary technology.
macOS 27 Golden Gate’s public beta introduces a rebuilt Siri that understands conversation, searches your personal data across Mail, Messages, Notes, and Photos, and uses Visual Intelligence to answer questions about what’s on your screen. The update also refines the Liquid Glass design with reduced transparency, better layer depth, and user controls to dial back the glass effect.
Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI alleges the AI company recruited former Apple employees and coached them to steal unreleased product details, including iPhone secrets. The legal pressure is already disrupting OpenAI’s hiring pipeline and forcing Apple to offer retention bonuses up to $400,000 to keep its talent.