Tax ruling shock, surprise iPhone 12 revelations: Here's all the Apple news you should have read this week

Imore Homepage Hero
Imore Homepage Hero (Image credit: Stephen Warwick/iMore)

This week's Apple headlines were mostly dominated by the company's tax spat with the EU. In one corner, Apple and the Irish government, in the other, the European Commission and its staunch belief that any arrangement the two had was unfair. We also found out about a surprise new iPhone 12 accessory, and some of the new initiatives Apple is undertaking to give back to the community. Here's all the Apple news you should have read this week.

Office shutdown

Apple Park photo of the side of the main building

Apple Park photo of the side of the main building (Image credit: Apple)

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Apple has revealed it will not fully reopen its offices until at least 2021, signaling a fully remote 2020 for many of its workers.

Apple says its offices in the US will not fully reopen until at least 2021

Social initiatives

Apple Teams Up With Hbcus To Bring Coding Opportunities Across Us Tsu Students Working

Apple Teams Up With Hbcus To Bring Coding Opportunities Across Us Tsu Students Working (Image credit: Apple)

Apple announced this week that it was committing $400 million to build affordable housing in the Bay Area, delivering on an earlier promise. Apple also announced a new initiative to expand its support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, boosting opportunities to learn coding.

Batterygate

iPhone Battery

iPhone Battery (Image credit: Rene Ritchie / iMore)

The $500 million settlement of Apple's batterygate is now live, meaning U.S. users can claim back $25 from Apple on eligible devices.

Apple's $500 million batterygate settlement now live, here's how to claim

Tax ruling

iPhone event

iPhone event (Image credit: Apple)

In something of a shock, the EU's second-highest court overturned a $14.9 billion tax bill the EU Commission says Apple owes Ireland, a ruling both parties appealed. It is unclear how the story will play out from here.

Apple's $14.9 billion tax bill overturned by EU court

China purge

App Store

App Store (Image credit: iMore)

More than 11,000 games have been removed from China's App Store following a change to licensing rules in the country.

Apple has removed over 11,000 games from the Chinese App Store, big deadline looming for developers

iPhone 12

Iphone 12 Braided Lightning Cable

Iphone 12 Braided Lightning Cable (Image credit: DuanRui)

Recent filings may have revealed that the iPhone 12's battery might be smaller than expected. And there's also an exciting rumor that Apple will ship the iPhone 12 with a brand new braided Lightning cable.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9