#Apple

Apple filed a lawsuit on July 10, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against OpenAI, two former employees, and io Products, accusing them of systematically stealing trade secrets related to product design, manufacturing processes, and supply chain to accelerate OpenAI's consumer hardware business. This lawsuit could set a significant precedent for how AI companies compete with established tech giants in hardware, potentially impacting OpenAI's hardware ambitions and the broader industry's approach to intellectual property protection. Apple alleges former employee Chang Liu downloaded dozens of hardware files after leaving the company, and hardware head Tang Yew Tan sent supplier information to his personal email and encouraged job candidates to bring Apple parts to interviews. Apple also claims over 400 former employees now work at OpenAI.

Apple provided the FBI with the real iCloud account details linked to a 'Hide My Email' address used to send threatening messages, leading to the identification and confession of the suspect, Alden Ruml. This case shows that Apple's 'Hide My Email' feature, marketed as a privacy tool, is not fully anonymous and can be traced back to users in law enforcement investigations, challenging user trust in Apple's privacy promises. The suspect, Alden Ruml, had created 134 anonymous email addresses through the 'Hide My Email' feature and admitted to sending threats to Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel.

Apple has released Xcode 26.3, introducing agentic coding that allows developers to use OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Agent directly within Xcode to understand projects, write code, build apps, run tests, and fix bugs via natural language. Additionally, Apple announced that starting April 28, 2026, apps submitted to App Store Connect must be built with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, or watchOS 26 SDKs. This update marks a significant leap in AI-assisted development on Apple's platform, potentially boosting developer productivity and changing how apps are built. The mandatory SDK update ensures apps leverage the latest OS features and security. Agentic coding in Xcode 26.3 uses AI agents like Anthropic's Claude Agent and OpenAI's Codex, which can autonomously break down tasks, make architectural decisions, and use built-in Xcode tools. The updated SDK requirement applies to all apps and games submitted to App Store Connect starting April 28, 2026.