Over the past year Apple mixed record results with regulatory pressure, a turn toward third-party AI and a run of security flaws. These are the threads that explain what changed in its business, its app store and its software.
Signed by Falcon, Signals analystUpdated on What happened and when
Apple nears a deal with Chase
A report puts Apple close to agreeing with Chase on running the Apple Card, after the rift with Goldman Sachs.
Emergency patch for a zero-day flaw
Apple fixes an actively exploited code-execution vulnerability in iOS, iPadOS and macOS that can be triggered by simply receiving an image.
German court halts carbon-neutral claim
Apple may no longer advertise its watch as carbon neutral in Germany over misleading advertising.
iPhone 17 Pro shines in camera and battery
A review praises the 48 MP telephoto with 4x zoom and the battery life while criticizing the look of the finish.
Apple buys Formula 1 in the US
A $750 million five-year deal gives Apple exclusive streaming rights from 2026.
Siri would lean on Gemini
Apple is reported to adapt a Google model, hosted on its private cloud, for the next generation of Siri.
Web App Store and cheaper mini-app fees
Apple launches a web version of its store and cuts the fee from 30 to 15 percent for a new mini-apps program.
Succession planning for Tim Cook
The board speeds up preparation for a handover and John Ternus is seen as the leading candidate, with no final decision.
Italy fines Apple $115 million
The regulator finds the double consent request in app tracking transparency abusive.
Compromised gift card locks an account
A developer loses access to his account after redeeming a gift card whose details had been compromised.
JPMorgan Chase takes over the Apple Card
Goldman Sachs exits consumer credit and JPMorgan would take roughly $20 billion in card balances.
Best quarter in its history
Apple reports revenue of about $143.76 billion, with $85.3 billion from the iPhone and services growing.
Malicious npm package targets macOS
A package posing as a legitimate installer deploys a remote access trojan to steal credentials.
Entry Mac mini rises to $799
Apple drops the $599 model as demand for local AI emptied inventories, according to the coverage.
usbliter8, an unpatchable flaw
An exploit in the SecureROM of A12 and A13 chips can compromise boot and cannot be fixed with software.
The threads that matter
Results, services and leadership succession
The business reached a high point. Apple reported the best quarter in its history, with about $143.76 billion in revenue, roughly $85.3 billion of it from the iPhone and services up 14 percent to about $30 billion. In parallel it prepared a handover: planning for the exit of Tim Cook, more than 14 years as chief executive, accelerated and John Ternus is the favorite with no final decision.
Services also changed hands and scale. The Apple Card moved from Goldman Sachs to JPMorgan Chase, which would take about $20 billion in balances at a $1 billion discount; and Apple will pay $750 million for exclusive Formula 1 streaming in the United States from 2026. Wallet is growing with digital passport IDs for TSA checkpoints.
- iPhone Apple Rompe Records de Ventas Historicos
- Apple Acelera Planificacion Reemplazo de Tim Cook Pronto
- Apple y Chase a Punto de Selllar un Acuerdo para la Apple Card
- JPMorgan Chase Takes Over Apple Card Deal
- Apple Secures US Formula 1 Streaming Rights
- Apple Wallet Pasaportes Digitales en EEUU Proximamente
Regulators and the app store
Pressure on the App Store was constant. Japan set December 18, 2025 as the date to open the iPhone to alternative stores, and iOS 26.2 beta already allowed them. Italy fined Apple $115 million over the double consent request in its app tracking policy, introduced in 2021, which hurt smaller developers.
Apple answered with adjustments of its own: a mini-apps program with a 15 percent fee instead of 30 and a web version of the store that allows browsing but not downloading. Separately, a German court barred it from advertising its watch as carbon neutral, after an environmental group objected to the forest offsetting.
AI and hardware
In artificial intelligence, Apple appeared to admit limits of its own: a report says it will adapt a Google model, on its private cloud, for the next Siri, after comparing with Anthropic, whose offer was seen as technically better but less attractive financially. Local AI helped sell machines: the entry Mac mini rose from $599 to $799 because AI demand emptied inventory.
Hardware had highs and lows. The iPhone 17 Pro review valued its camera and battery, and Garmin got ahead with a satellite-connected watch days before the expected Apple Watch Ultra 3.
Design and software 26
The 26 generation of its operating systems brought a visual overhaul and some controversy. macOS Tahoe forced app icons into a common shape, with criticism over lost identity, and the Macintosh HD disk icon, in place since 2000, was replaced by one that evokes an SSD.
Apple also backed down when usage demanded it: after complaints about the disappearance of Slide Over in the iPad's new multitasking, it restored it in the second beta of iPadOS 26.1. That adjustment suggests the company listens to heavy users even on major design changes.
Security across the ecosystem
The year piled up warnings. Apple patched an actively exploited zero-day in ImageIO in August; in September a variant of XCSSET was detected attacking Xcode projects and stealing browser data and cryptocurrency; and in March a fake npm package posed as an installer to steal credentials on macOS.
Other cases touched trust in the service: the Podcasts app opened by itself with titles containing code, and a developer lost access to his account over a compromised gift card. In June, usbliter8 revealed an unpatchable flaw in A12 and A13 chips.
- Alerta Urgente Apple Lanza Parches por Vulnerabilidad Zero-Day Protege tu iPhone iPad y Mac Ahora
- XCSSET Malware macOS Ataca Xcode y Criptomonedas
- NPM Roba Credenciales macOS Peligro Oculto
- Hackean Apple Podcasts con Ataques XSS
- Apple Gift Card Scam Locks User Out
- Exploit Imparcheable usbliter8 Compromete Chips Apple A12-A13
Why it matters and what to watch
The store is no longer a comfortable monopoly
Fines and deadlines in Italy and Japan push Apple to negotiate fees and rules; watch whether the mini-apps model spreads to other markets.
Partnering on AI has a price
If Siri depends on a Google model, Apple buys time but gives up control; the key will be how much of the experience remains its own.
Succession and services define the decade
With a record quarter and a handover under study, Cook's transition and the handling of the Apple Card and sports will test the services strategy.
Security becomes the weak flank
From a zero-day to an unpatchable hardware flaw, the period's warnings are a reminder that the patch does not always arrive.
What we think
From a technology desk's point of view, we see an Apple that earns money with enviable discipline and yet starts making the decisions of an ordinary company: leaning on someone else's model for Siri, yielding on fees when a regulator presses, reversing a design change when users protest. We do not read it as weakness but as pragmatism. What does worry us is the accumulation of security incidents, because trust is the brand's central asset and it is spent faster than it is built. We would advise any team that depends on its devices to update without delay, distrust packages of doubtful origin and not treat a closed ecosystem as a guarantee of immunity.
Falcon, Signals analystEverything we published on this topic
24 stories from Jul 2025 to Jun 2026, by month. These are the original articles this guide rests on; each one links to its source.
