Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, testified as a witness for the US Justice Department in a antitrust trial against Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Google, which controls almost 90 per cent of the search industry, is accused by the Justice Department of abusing the dominance of its search engine to stifle competition and innovation at the expense of consumers.
The prosecution claims that in order to maintain its position at the top, Google paid illegally $10 billion annually to wireless carriers like AT&T, smartphone manufacturers like Apple, and other parties to be the default search engine on their devices.
Satya Nadella testified in the Google anti-trust trial, claiming that due to Google’s market dominance, Microsoft is unable to compete, media outlets reported.
The firm didn’t say when its own software fix would be released but said no safety issues should prevent iPhone 15 owners from using their devices in the meantime.
Apple is blaming a software bug and issues tied to apps like Instagram and Uber for causing its recently released iPhone 15 models to get too hot.
The company said over the weekend that it is working on an update to the iOS17 system that powers the iPhone 15 line-up to prevent the devices from becoming uncomfortably hot and is working with apps that are running in ways “causing them to overload the system”.
Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, modified its social media app earlier this week to prevent it from heating up the device on the latest iPhone operating system.
Uber and other apps such as the video game Asphalt 9 are still in the process of rolling out their updates, Apple said.
The firm did not specify a timeline for when its own software fix would be released but said no safety issues should prevent iPhone 15 owners from using their devices while they wait for the update.
“We have identified a few conditions which can cause iPhone to run warmer than expected,” Apple said in a short statement after reports of overheating complaints appearing on online message boards.
It’s not unusual for iPhones to get uncomfortably hot during the first few days of use or when they are being restored with backup information stored in the cloud – issues that Apple already flags for users.
Apple has acknowledged user complaints that iPhone 15 and 15 Pro phones are overheating, reports Forbes, but said that contrary to speculation, it has nothing to do with the phone’s hardware design. Forbes noted an update to Instagram has already rolled out with version 302, released September 27th, to address some of the issues.
Bloomberg notes an unnamed Apple spokesperson specifically mentioning Instagram, Uber, and the game Asphalt 9 as examples of apps that could cause the devices to “run warmer than normal.”
Apple also says there is no safety risk in the thermal issues but that other factors, like USB-C power adapters with more-than-20W charging and background processing that occurs shortly after a phone is restored, can make a phone warmer than an iPhone user might be accustomed to.
The company further told Forbes that the fix, which should come with iOS 17.1, won’t result in throttled performance, which some, like Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, have said was a possibility.
Apple will update its iPhone 12 in France after fears about radiation, the country’s digital minister says.
Jean-Noel Barrot said Apple would deliver a software update for users in the country in the coming days.
Sales of iPhone 12 were halted in France after a regulator detected too much electromagnetic radiation. Apple was told to fix the issue.
The firm said the new update would only apply to users in France, where it said a specific testing protocol existed.
The American tech giant suggested the radiation findings were a result of that testing regime, and that it was “not a safety concern”.
The planned update raises questions over Apple’s plans for iPhone 12, which was released just three years ago, in other countries.
Mr Barrot said that the radio frequency regulator (ANFR) would test the new update to check its compliance before iPhone 12 is allowed back on sale in the country.
The World Health Organization has previously sought to allay fears about radiation emitted by mobile phones.
It says on its website there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to low level electromagnetic fields is harmful to humans.
In a statement sent to AFP news agency, Apple said the radiation finding in France was “related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern”.
It said the iPhone 12 complied with emissions rules worldwide, but it would “issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators”.
Apple cuts prices of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus after launching iPhone 15 series. The Cupertino-based company has cut the price of older iPhones by up to ₹10,000
FILE PHOTO: A man holds an iPhone 14 as Apple Inc’s new models go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing, China, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo (REUTERS)
Apple has slashed the price of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 plus following the launch of the new iPhone 15 series on Tuesday. The Tim Cook-led company had unveiled four new iPhones – iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max – during the Wonderlust event at Apple Park in Cupertino.
Discount on iPhone 14 and iPhone Plus:
Apple had launched the iPhone 14 and iPhone Plus in September last year at a starting price of ₹79,900 and ₹89,900 respectively. However, following the launch of the new iPhone 15 series, the prices of these phones have now been significantly reduced on Apple’s official website.
iPhone 14 is now available at a price of ₹69,900 for the 128 GB variant, ₹79,900 for the 256 GB variant and ₹99,900 for the 512 GB variant. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 Plus is available for ₹79,990 for the 128 GB variant, ₹89,990 for the 256 GB variant and ₹1,09,990 for the 512 GB variant.
Additionally, buyers are also eligible for an instant cashback of up to ₹8,000 by using the HDFC Bank credit cards during their purchase.
iPhone 15 specifications:
iPhone 14 is powered by the Apple A15 Bionic chipset paired with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options. The iPhone sports with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with a resolution of 2532×1170 pixels along with ceramic shield protection. The smartphone is dual camera unit includes a 12MP primary sensor at the rear paired with another 12MP ultra-wide sensor.
We’ve just had our first chance to check out the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which Apple just announced at its annual fall event in Cupertino. There are lots of new things about the devices — camera upgrades, the new A17 Bionic chip — but there are three things about the phone you notice right away. The thing is made of titanium; there’s an Action Button on the left side; and that’s a USB-C port on the bottom. Oh, and a fourth thing: the sides of the phones on display were instantly and immediately covered in fingerprints.
At first glance, the 15 Pro looks just like the iPhones Pro before it. But pick one up, and the lighter weight due to the titanium frame is obvious, as are the curved edges. It’s just nicer to hold. Apple says the titanium has allowed it to make the sides of the device thinner, which certainly makes the display look bigger than usual, but it’s the same 6.1 inches on the Pro and 6.7 inches on the Pro Max.
That’s a USB-C port. Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge
There’s a USB-C port on the bottom now, which Apple says supports 10Gbps transfers using a USB 3 cable — enough to support live shooting 48-megapixel photos using Capture One and shooting 4K video directly to external storage. But from the outside, it just looks like a USB-C port — we’ll have to test it out to know more.
On the side, you’ll find the new Action Button, which can be remapped using a delightfully designed menu in settings — you can set it to launch voice memos, open the camera or flashlight, change Focus modes, launch various accessibility features, or even launch Shortcuts, which means it can do anything you want it to do.
Inside, there’s the new A17 Pro chip, which is the industry’s first 3nm chip — a big deal in the high-stakes chip world. There’s a long litany of specs here: 10 percent faster performance cores than the iPhone 15 Pro, a 2x faster Neural Engine, and a new six-core GPU that’s up to 20 percent faster than the 15 Pro. The new chip also has a dedicated AV1 decoder for more efficient video streaming, and it also enables 4K60 video output over that USB-C port. In our brief hands-on time, the iPhone 15 Pro ran a bunch of games without exploding, so that’s a good sign? We’ll have to really test this thing in a proper review to know more.
It’s the same with the cameras: the hands-on area of the Steve Jobs Theater is one of the best-lit demo spaces around, so the new cameras looked great, and of course, the sample photos loaded on the demo phones were spectacular. The new main camera can switch between 24, 28, and 35mm focal lengths, and the new 5x tetraprism zoom lens on the Pro Max has a 120mm focal length, which was fun to play with. The main camera shoots at 24mp by default, but you can now shoot at both 48mp ProRaw and 48mp HEIF, which Apple pronounces “heef.” This is a shocking revelation.
Camera-wise, the new feature most people will immediately appreciate is the update to Portrait Mode, which automatically captures depth information when it detects a person, cat, or dog in the frame — allowing you to change photos to portrait after the fact. You can also adjust the focus point after the fact, which is a very, very neat trick that people have been trying to ship in consumer products for a decade now. We’ll have to see how this all works in reality, but here in Apple’s bubble, it all seemed to work flawlessly.
The 15 Pro now supports Wi-Fi 6E for faster wireless performance, and they have built-in Thread radios for…. whatever happens with Matter and Thread. (Even Apple doesn’t seem to know what they’re for yet.) There’s also the new second-generation UWB chip that enables precision finding in Find My if your friends have devices with that new chip, like the new Apple Watches or the iPhone 15.
Lastly, the satellite connectivity features have been expanded to include roadside assistance through AAA — Apple’s website says access to Roadside Assistance is free for the first two years, but the actual roadside service is going to cost you, or you have to be an AAA member. We’ll sort through that as well.
We obviously have a lot of things to cover in this review! Let us know what you want us to find out, and we’ll keep at it.
Apple has sent out invitations for its September event, titled “Wonderlust.” The event is scheduled for September 12 and the new iPhones are going to be the showstopper. But, there could be more to it. Here’s everything we expect at Apple’s ‘Wonderlust’ event
The new ‘vanilla’ iPhones: iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus
The iPhone 15 could come in two variants – a vanilla iPhone 15 and a bigger iPhone 15 Plus. The two iPhone 15 models are expected to feature a Dynamic Island pill-shaped cutout instead of the notch. There are some camera upgrades expected as well – the primary sensor may be upgraded to 48MP, similar to the Pro models. Additionally, the vanilla models are rumoured to have a USB-C port. The colour options for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus may include Black, Blue, Green, Pink, and Yellow. If rumours are to be believed, the iPhone 15 could come at a starting price of $799, and the iPhone 15 Pro might start at $899.
The ‘top-end new iPhones’: iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
There would be two iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. It is believed that these models will feature a titanium frame, available in silver, black, and blue colours, with an Action Button. Additionally, the two models are expected to come with a USB-C port with support for faster charging speeds of up to 35W. While both models are said to have minor camera upgrades, the Pro Max version may include a periscope camera. The starting prices for the iPhone 15 Pro is rumoured to be $1,099, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max starting at $1,299 in the US.
Apple Watch Series 9 with S9 cip =
The Apple Watch Series 9 is not expected to bring any changes in its looks. However, rumours are that the Series 9 could come with a new chip, said to be based on a newer A series chip, which could give the upcoming watches a significant performance boost. The Apple Watch Series 9 would come in two sizes – 41mm and 45mm
Elon Musk looks on as he speaks during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair in Paris. (Photo by AFP)
Elon Musk has said the microblogging site X, formerly known as Twitter, will remove a protective feature that lets users block other accounts.
“Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs [direct messages],” Musk said in a post on X, adding later, “It makes no sense.”
The block feature allows an X user to restrict accounts they like from contacting them, seeing their posts or following them on the social media platform.
However, the platform would retain the mute function, which screens a user from seeing specified accounts but, unlike blocking, does not alert the other account to the action.
WHY ELON MUSK’S MOVE CONTROVERSIAL?
Removing blocking feature can reshape the way users connect, communicate and coexist in the microblogging site. There have been renewed concerns over some fraudsters impersonating, abusing, and harassing uses on social media.
Users have been resorting to this block feature as a means of defense against harassment, threats or stalking within the platform.
Is there ever a reason to block vs mute someone?
Give your reasons.
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) August 18, 2023
However, X is trying to convey that there will be “a stronger form of mute” in place of blocking. Currently, the mute function of the platform hides individual accounts that users don’t want to interact to on their timeline.
“We can make mutes stronger, like not allow people you mute to reply or quote you. We can also transfer [your] block list to mute list,” Aqueel Miqdad, a software engineer at X, suggested in a post.
The end call button now sits much closer to the rest of the call controls. Screenshot by Jess Weatherbed / The Verge
Apple looks set to be moving one of the most well-used buttons in iOS; the Phone app’s red end call button. Beta versions of iOS 17, which will likely get an official release this fall alongside the forthcoming iPhone 15, feature a redesigned call interface that shifts the red button down and to the right, and eliminates the distance between it and the rest of the call controls.
The new interface was technically made available with the very first developer beta of iOS 17, but it hadn’t been widely spotted until this week when the likes of CNBC and Gizmodo covered the change. Here’s a before and after comparison of the call interface between iOS 16 and beta iOS 17:
Arm has devised a strategy to engage major chipmakers like Nvidia and Intel and tech giants like Apple and Samsung as medium- to long-term shareholders
Apple logo seen outside one of its official stores
British chip design unit Arm, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, is preparing to launch a historic Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in September. The IPO is expected to raise market capitalization exceeding a staggering $60 billion, making it the largest IPO of the year. A report by Nikkei Asia claims that Apple, Samsung, Intel and Nvidia will jump on board as investors once the company is listed.
The Nasdaq listing process is about to kick into gear, with SoftBank Group officially submitting its application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later this month. According to the report, Arm’s IPO is tentatively scheduled for a mid-to-late-September, with the company actively gauging investor demand and hoping to further boost its corporate value. This move comes after Arm’s valuation skyrocketed since SoftBank’s $24 billion acquisition of the company in 2016, doubling its initial price tag.
Presently, SoftBank Group holds a 75% stake in Arm, while the remaining 25% is owned by the SoftBank Vision Fund, a tech-focused investment unit. Notably, the Vision Fund is planning to offload a 10% to 15% chunk of its Arm shares on the open market, the Nikkei Asia report claims.
It further claims that Arm has devised a strategy to engage major chipmakers like Nvidia and Intel and tech giants like Apple and Samsung as medium- to long-term shareholders, with plans to sell them fractional stakes to stabilize the stock price upon listing.
Apple Inc. assembled more than $7 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal year, tripling production in the world’s fastest-growing smartphone arena after accelerating a move beyond China.
The US company now makes almost 7% of its iPhones in India through expanding partners from Foxconn Technology Group to Pegatron Corp., people familiar with the matter said. That’s a significant leap for India, which accounted for an estimated 1% of the world’s iPhones in 2021.
Apple is exploring ways to reduce its reliance on China as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate. Its longtime partners, who make most of the world’s iPhones from sprawling factories in China, have added assembly lines at a rapid pace over the past year, the people said, declining to be named as the information isn’t public.
Apple is exploring ways to reduce its reliance on China as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate. Its longtime partners, who make most of the world’s iPhones from sprawling factories in China, have added assembly lines at a rapid pace over the past year, the people said, declining to be named as the information isn’t public.
The world’s most valuable company struggled last year with chaos at Foxconn’s main “iPhone City” complex in Zhengzhou, which drove home vulnerabilities in Apple’s supply chain and forced it to cut output estimates. At the same time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dished out a spate of incentives to boost local manufacturing.
Of the total production, Apple exported $5 billion of iPhones in the year ended March 2023, nearly four times as much as the previous period, the people said. Apple will likely try to manufacture the next iPhones in India at the same time as in China, sometime in the fall of 2023. If so, that will be the first time that iPhone assembly begins concurrently in the two countries. And if the aggressive expansion of its suppliers continues, Apple could assemble a quarter of all its iPhones in India by 2025. Representatives for the US company declined to comment.
Even before last year’s iPhone city flareup, Apple had recognized the need to diversify its supply chain. It successfully lobbied for incentives in India and pushed suppliers Foxconn, Wistron Corp. and Pegatron to ramp up locally. The trio, which together employ some 60,000 workers in India, make models ranging from the aging iPhone 11 to the latest iPhone 14 in the country.
That’s helped place Apple at the heart of India’s ambitions to become a major manufacturing hub and alternative location to China. Apple is among the world’s most exacting when it comes to manufacturing: its production chain encompasses hundreds of companies across the world and employs millions, much of that now in China.
The migration of iPhone production represents an economic triumph for India that could have implications for how other US brands plan their futures. For Apple, the country itself represents a fount of future growth, at a time the Chinese economy is sputtering after years of punishing Covid Zero restrictions.
Everyone has a personal story to tell. Some people are just better than others at telling those stories.
Learning to craft and share an origin story is a valuable communication skill that every entrepreneur and small business should strive to sharpen. Storytelling skills will help you differentiate your idea or the products and services you sell.
An origin story means exactly what it says–it reveals the origin of an idea. Where I live, in Silicon Valley, the most famous origin story started in a garage. It goes like this:
In 1976, two friends started a computer company. One person was a brilliant engineer, and the other had a passion for marketing and design. Together, the two Steves (Jobs and Wozniak) created Apple in the garage of the house where Jobs lived with his parents. Together, they revolutionized the industry and made computers easy to use for the average person. In 1985, Jobs was kicked out of his own company after a failed boardroom coup. He returned triumphantly a decade later to save the company from bankruptcy and turn around its fortunes. In January 2022, the brand founded by two guys in a garage became the first U.S. company to reach a market value of $3 trillion.
The preceding paragraph is a short origin story of about 100 words. It contains four elements that origin stories should offer: structure, characters, conflict, and resolution.
Structure
An origin story is just that–a story. And stories, according to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, should have a beginning, middle, and end. Aristotle’s advice still holds 2,300 years later.
The beginning of a story establishes the setting and the characters. The middle contains hurdles or conflict, and the ending resolves the conflict.
Characters
An origin story captures the company’s values, mission, strategy, and purpose. Those are abstract concepts that need to be fleshed out.
We see ourselves in other people’s stories. The key word is “people.” Abstract ideas can be embedded in a good origin story, but real people should be the ones who carry the message. If those people challenge the status quo in some way, they’re even more compelling to follow.
Conflict
I went to a screening of the Aaron Sorkin movie on Steve Jobs. Sorkin, a famed screenwriter, was there to explain the premise, and his was to focus on the tension between Jobs and the Apple board. Every great story is about “intention and obstacle,” Sorkin says. In other words, a character wants something and something gets in the way.
Overcoming hurdles is an essential ingredient in storytelling to keep listeners riveted to the narrative.
Resolution
A story must end. But how? With closure and, in most cases, a happily-ever-after. After a character struggles and overcomes daunting odds, audiences are relieved that the person finds what they’re looking for–or at least is transformed by the experience.
In a business origin story, the ending simply wraps up the story with a solution to the problem or a resolution to the conflict.
I’ve been a full-time CEO communication coach for nearly two decades, and I can confidently say that investors, the media, and the public all crave an origin story. But they don’t want to hear just any story. Instead, they want a compelling story that pulls them along on the journey and inspires them at the end.
