Apple will mass produce its own microLED displays in order to lessen its reliance on Samsung and increase its own control over supply, laying the groundwork to realize its ultimate goal of bringing the technology to iPhones, reports Nikkei Asia. According to the outlet's sources, Apple has spent at least $1 billion on microLED research and development over past decade, and once production starts, Apple will itself perform the critical "mass transfer" step of the manufacturing process, which involves placing at least tens of thousands of tiny microLED chips onto substrates. Apple plans to fabricate the tiny microLED chips directly on wafers, and will partner with ams-Osram for the microLED components, LG Display for the substrates, and TSMC for 12-inch…

Illustration: The Verge A former Apple engineer and the executive at an electric vehicle startup owned by the Chinese tech giant Baidu has been charged with stealing Apple’s self-driving technology, as reported earlier by CNBC. On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice indicted and charged Weibo Wang with the “theft and attempted theft” of Apple’s autonomous driving tech. As noted by the indictment, Wang started working at Apple as a software engineer in 2016, where he signed a confidentiality agreement and worked on the company’s secretive autonomous driving project. Wang resigned from his role in 2018, but unbeknownst to Apple, Wang accepted employment at “the U.S.-based subsidiary of another company that was headquartered in the People’s Republic of China and…

The Department of Justice has charged a third ex-engineer over the alleged theft of self-driving car tech in 2018, after the engineer tried to hand Apple's trade secrets over to a Chinese autonomous driving tech company.Apple's self-driving vehicle testbedAnnounced on Tuesday, the DoJ revealed it had filed charges at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco against Weibao Wang on April 11, 2023. Wang stands accused of the theft and the attempt at taking Apple's "entire autonomy source code," tracking systems, behavior planning systems, and system hardware descriptions. Read more...

Apple today announced that Emergency SOS via satellite is now available in Australia and New Zealand. Available on all iPhone 14 models, the feature enables users to send text messages to emergency services via satellite when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage is not available. Users can also share their location via satellite in the Find My app. Emergency SOS via satellite is enabled by default on iPhones running iOS 16.4 or later in Australia and New Zealand. An option to send a text message via satellite will appear after dialing 000 in Australia or 111 in New Zealand outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. There is also a demo mode in the Settings app under Emergency SOS that allows…

A check signed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has sold for $106,985, over 400% of the original $25,000 estimate, at RR Auction. RR Auction: Pristine Apple Computer check signed by Steve Jobs in 1976—the year of the company’s founding Choice Apple Computer Company business check, 6 x 3, filled out in type and signed by Jobs, “steven jobs,” payable to Crampton, Remke & Miller, Inc. for $175, July 8, 1976. Headed “Apple Computer Company,” the check uses Apple’s first official address at “770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto”—the location of an answering service and mail drop that they used while still operating out of the famous Jobs family garage. In fine to very fine condition. Crampton, Remke & Miller…

An Apple Computer Company check signed by Steve Jobs sold for $106,985 through an auction hosted by RR Auction. The check was filled out and signed by Jobs in 1976, and it was made out to Crampton, Remke, & Miller, INC, a consulting firm that offered its services to tech companies in Northern California. Jobs' check is notable because it uses the first Apple address at 770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto. This was the address of an answering service that Jobs and Wozniak used while working out of the Jobs family garage. RR Auction VP Bobby Livingston said that early checks like this are desired because "they not only tell Apple's founding story, they are signed with perfect…