Apple Recap: Shaky Reputation, Consumer Love, and Lingering Lawsuits

“Cash is clearly on investors’ minds,” said Topeka Capital analyst Brian White about Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) shareholders, clearly stating the obvious. Many speculated that Apple would increase its dividend in celebration of the one-year anniversary of its reinstatement on Tuesday, but that day passed in silence, and the stock dipped down 0.27 percent after climbing as much as 2.7 percent the previous day. But even continued silence did not drag down the company’s stock on Thursday; shares closed up $0.65, or 0.14 percent, at $452.73. Here’s a cheat sheet to today’s top Apple stories:

Is Apple’s Reputation on a Rocky Road?

Apparently, Apple is having trouble with its security, as a new iOS update, which fixed one vulnerability, ushered in a new one. On the previous operating system update, users could exploit a flaw to gain access to locked phones, but that flaw was patched in an update that was released Tuesday. Unfortunately, the update, iOS version 6.1.3, left the phone vulnerable to a bizarre hacking technique that grants limited access to a person who knows the technique.

The trick is a bit odd and requires lock-screen voice-dialing be activated… (Read more.)