This hasn’t been a good week for Apple.
Over the last several days, Apple has suffered through some rough times. The company lost a landmark case against Samsung in the U.S. Supreme Court, dealt with a bigger-than-expected iPhone battery problem, and was forced to address concerns that perhaps its new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar also has some battery troubles. Along the way, Apple Watch sales were called into question, and speculation abounds that the company’s best days are behind it.
This is Coins2Day’s weekly roundup of the biggest Apple news this week. To see last week’s roundup, click here.
Was this just a bad week for Apple (AAPL) or something of a bigger problem that could grow and fester in the days ahead? At this point, it’s hard to tell. But not even a company as profitable as Apple can be happy by how things have gone of late.
Here’s a look back at Apple’s trying week:
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- In a major blow to Apple, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Samsung this week in the companies’ $399 million smartphone patent spat. While that means Apple won’t be able to collect just yet on claims that Samsung violated its patents in a slew of smartphones released by the Korea-based company over the years, the Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court. So there’s a chance that Apple could be awarded damages once again. But for now, it’s on the losing side of this protracted battle with Samsung.
- Apple will pay $450,000 to settle claims it mishandled hazardous electronic waste in Silicon Valley. Apple also agreed to increase the number of inspections it conducts on its facilities in Cupertino, Calif. And Sunnyvale, Calif.
- Apple this week said that the number of customers affected by a battery flaw that could cause some of its iPhone 6s units to abruptly shut down could be bigger than initially believed. Apple previously said only iPhone 6s units manufactured between September and October 2015 were susceptible to the battery bug that shuts down the handset, but now says other “customers outside of the affected range” may have also been affected. Apple is offering free battery replacements to affected iPhone 6s owners.
- There are some iPhone 6 units in China catching fire, but Apple says those troubles are not its fault. Instead, Apple said in a statement that the units the company has analyzed caught fire due to “external physical damage.” That said, Apple plans to widen its investigation to ensure units aren’t in danger due to design flaws.
- Is Apple getting into the car business or not? After reports earlier this year that the company was changing its tack, an Apple patent application surfaced this week on a technology that would aid self-driving cars in avoiding collisions. The patent was discovered just after Apple issued a letter to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing interest in testing autonomous cars.
- Some Apple MacBook Pro with Touchbar owners are reporting that the new computer isn’t lasting nearly as long on a single battery charge as Apple has promised. Those owners, who have shared their frustration on online forums including Reddit, say the MacBook Pro’s battery life lasts between three and six hours during periods when they’re engaging in sophisticated tasks like playing video games, and using up a large portion of the computer’s resources. Others who are using the MacBook Pro for simpler tasks like surfing the Web say they’re getting better battery life than Apple promised.
- Research firm IDC reported this week that third-quarter Apple Watch sales were down 71% year over year, falling to just 1.1 million units during the three-month period. In response, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Reuters that Apple Watch “sales growth is off the charts” during this holiday season. He neither commented on third-quarter performance nor shared exact sales figures. In a commentary on the topic, Coins2Day argued it’s time for Apple to share actual Apple Watch sales numbers.
- Apple Music now has 20 million paid subscribers, up from 17 million in September. Chief competitor Spotify has more than 40 million paid subscribers.
- In a bit of good news, Apple’s iPhone accounted for 40.5% of all smartphone sales in the three-month period ended October. That was up from 33.5% share of smartphone sales in the same period last year, and the greatest sales share since the three-month period ending January 2015.
- It’s been ten years since Apple’s iconic “Get a Mac” ads aired, and some of the creators and actors have discussed what it was like getting the ad campaign off the ground with trade publication Campaign.
For more about Apple’s iPhone 7, watch:
One more thing… An Apple Store in Berkeley was robbed three times in nine days last month. Here’s a video of two of the brazen robberies.
