The author is repeating a confirmation they received directly from Apple, as described in the first sentence. Ben is a long time journalist who's been on the be

The author is repeating a confirmation they received directly from Apple, as described in the first sentence. Ben is a long time journalist who's been on the beat for decades. When he says, "Apple has confirmed to me" it's a newsworthy report of what Apple has confirmed to him. The statement doesn't have to be attributed to an Apple spokesperson to confirm that, and Ben is not prone to "misreporting" like you claim without evidence.