Tech News — Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Apple Sues OpenAI, Samsung's Data Ultimatum, and the AI Infrastructure Arms Race

The four stories that defined big tech this week

⚖️ Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft

Breaking

Gavel and law book representing a corporate lawsuit

Apple filed suit against OpenAI on July 10 in federal court in Northern California, alleging that the ChatGPT maker engaged in trade secret theft "at every level" of its organization, from technical staff up to its chief hardware officer, in coordination with business partners. The complaint names OpenAI's hardware chief Tang Tan, a former Apple vice president, accusing him of directing Apple employees interviewing at OpenAI to bring "actual parts" from unreleased Apple products to their interviews for "show and tell" sessions. Apple also alleges a former employee, Chang Liu, stole an Apple laptop on his way out the door, and that OpenAI coached departing staff on how to evade Apple's internal security checks.

The lawsuit marks a stunning reversal in a relationship that was, less than two years ago, a marquee partnership: ChatGPT was integrated directly into iOS in 2024. Relations cooled after OpenAI signaled it would build its own consumer hardware, a push that accelerated when it acquired former Apple design chief Jony Ive's startup, IO Products, for $6.4 billion. OpenAI has denied wrongdoing, with a spokesperson stating the company has "no interest in other companies' trade secrets" and remains focused on "building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."

The case lands as OpenAI is separately preparing a confidential IPO filing with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, targeting a public debut as soon as September at a valuation near $730 billion — a listing that would become the largest tech IPO in history if it prices near that figure.

"At every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple's trade secrets and confidential information." — Apple, in its July 10, 2026 court filing

⌚ Samsung Health's AI Consent Ultimatum Sparks Backlash

Privacy Alert Samsung Galaxy Watch on a wrist, representing the Samsung Health app

Samsung Health began sending a new consent notice to users this week that draws a hard line: allow the company to use personal health data for AI training and human review, or lose access to that data entirely. The prompt, first widely reported on July 13, covers step counts, sleep patterns, medication logs, cycle tracking, and full health records including treatments and test results.

Users who decline face an unambiguous warning inside the app: declining consent means health data will no longer sync to a Samsung account and existing data will be deleted, aside from anything Samsung must retain for legal reasons. Privacy researchers have flagged the binary framing — consent or deletion, with no middle option to simply keep using the app without contributing to AI training — as an aggressive escalation compared to how most competitors handle similar requests.

Samsung has confirmed the policy is opt-in in name but structured so that opting out carries a real cost. Users who want to preserve their history are being advised to export their data manually before responding to the prompt, since the toggle can be reversed later in Settings > Privacy but reinstating deleted records is not guaranteed.

2 options

Consent or deletion

Full history

Data scope affected

🏗️ Meta and Amazon Escalate the AI Infrastructure Arms Race

Big Tech

Meta's stock jumped more than 7% earlier this week after an internal memo revealed plans to double the company's total computing power by 2027, underpinned by long-term supply deals that include a new arrangement with Samsung. The company also confirmed a $10 billion, 1-gigawatt data center in Alberta, Canada — its first facility in the country and its 33rd data center worldwide, a signal of how far the compute buildout has spread beyond traditional US hubs.

Amazon moved on a parallel track, launching a bond sale split into eight tranches to raise at least $25 billion for AI infrastructure, with maturities stretching from three years out to 40. Investor demand was strong enough that order books peaked near $62 billion before banks trimmed pricing, settling around $41 billion — roughly 1.6 times the size of the offering. Amazon has now raised close to $54 billion in bonds this year alone, as its projected 2026 capital expenditures climb toward $200 billion, up from $131 billion in 2025.

Together, the two moves underscore a theme running through big tech's second half of 2026: the AI compute race has shifted from a contest over model quality to a contest over who can finance and build data centers the fastest, with debt markets now doing as much heavy lifting as cash reserves.

$25B

Amazon bond raise

$200B

Amazon 2026 capex

Meta compute target by 2027

📱 Samsung Confirms July 22 Unpacked: Three Foldables Expected

Gadgets

Back view of a Samsung foldable smartphone

Samsung has officially locked in its second Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 for July 22 in London, under the tagline "A New Shape Unfolds." The teaser campaign leans hard into the phrase: an event invitation transforms into an opening box revealing the four-star Galaxy AI logo, a not-so-subtle hint at how central AI features will be to the pitch.

Leaks ahead of the event point to Samsung launching three foldables simultaneously for the first time — a wider Galaxy Z Fold 8, a premium Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra variant, and the Galaxy Z Flip 8 — alongside new Galaxy Watches. If the three-foldable lineup holds, it would mark Samsung's most aggressive single-event push into the category it has defined for years, likely aimed squarely at countering rumored foldable entries from Apple and Google.

The event streams live on Samsung.com, Samsung Newsroom, and Samsung's YouTube channel starting at 2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. EDT. Expect the usual wave of hands-on impressions within hours of the keynote wrapping.

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