This week on AI: Apple at the Supreme Court, Australian photo scandal, new R&D centers & more

By Roger Fingas

Product rumors took a backseat to the here-and-now this week, as Apple found itself on the defensive at the U.S. Supreme Court, announced plans for new international research and development centers, and coped with the aftermath of a lewd photo scandal in Australia.

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A roundup of all of our hottest stories this week:

US Supreme Court shows flexibility in first day of Apple v. Samsung caseApple investigation of employee-led photo sharing ring finds no purloined customer dataTim Cook meets with Japan's prime minister, says Apple Yokohama R&D center to be completed in DecemberApple to open R&D center in Shenzhen in 2017, foster Chinese developer talentHammer finally falls as Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is officially, permanently discontinuedThree more lawfirms join class action over 'touch disease' affecting iPhone 6Apple granted board seat at Didi Chuxing after $1B investment, report saysApple Pay comes to New Zealand through ANZ BankApple CEO Tim Cook meets Nintendo executives, plays Super Mario Run in Japan visitApple poaching GPU designer Imagination Technologies' talent, hiring key personnel awayBMW's 2017 5 Series Sedan to be first car with support for wireless CarPlayApple starts sales of SIM-free iPhone 7, 7 Plus handsets in USApple Watch Nike+ to launch on Oct. 28, Apple saysSony pledges to launch over five iOS games by March 2018