Apple has hired two long-time Sony Pictures Television executives to expand the iPhone maker&#39;s push into original television programming, plunging deeper into a field crowded by Hollywood studios and online streaming services.

Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, responsible for hit shows such as Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and The Crown, will join Apple in newly created positions to oversee all aspects of video programming, the technology company said in a statement.

&quot;Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television,&quot; said Eddy Cue, Apple&#39;s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.

&quot;There is much more to come,&quot; Cue said of Apple&#39;s video effort.

The new hires demonstrate a serious commitment by another deep-pocketed technology company to produce quality television shows. Erlicht and Van Amburg have served as senior Sony television executives since 2005.

But Apple did not elaborate on its strategy, leaving investors guessing how many shows it plans to distribute, how much it will spend and where the programming will be available.

The company is playing in an increasingly competitive field. Amazon.com and Netflix have invested billions of dollars in award-winning comedies and dramas featuring A-list Hollywood stars. And social media company Facebook has signed deals with millennial-focused news and entertainment creators, including Vox and BuzzFeed, to make shows for its upcoming video service.

Apple began its move last week with reality programme Planet of the Apps, an unscripted show about developers competing for venture capital funding. The series is available only to subscribers to Apple Music, a $10-a-month streaming service.

Viewer data

Apple has one huge advantage compared with other companies - 1 billion iPhones, iPads and other devices that run Apple&#39;s mobile operating system and offer a broad distribution platform. The company has widely promoted Planet of the Apps across iTunes, the App Store, Apple&#39;s website and elsewhere.

As tech companies push further into the content business, pressure mounts on traditional media outlets that do not have the same amount of data on viewers or the ability for content to be a loss leader, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG.

&quot;These companies do not need to make money off video because they can make money other ways,&quot; Greenfield said. &quot;And they are going to have tons of data on their viewers.&quot;

It is more cost-effective for Apple to pay for original content and secure licensing deals on its own than to buy a content company, said Moody&rsquo;s analyst Gerald Granovsky.

&quot;From a credit perspective, we&rsquo;d much rather see Apple overpay to deliver original content than pay $50 billion to buy Netflix and basically compete for the same content,&quot; he said. &quot;They&rsquo;ll definitely get a better bang for their buck by focusing on their Apple TV product.&quot;

Greenfield said news of Apple&rsquo;s hires should put to rest rumours that Apple might acquire another content company, Walt Disney. &quot;It&rsquo;s pretty clear now that Apple isn&rsquo;t buying Disney,&quot; he said.

For Sony, the departures come as the Japanese conglomerate revamps its movie and television studio under new Chief Executive Tony Vinciquerra. In a memo to staff, Vinciquerra suggested Apple could be a buyer of Sony programming. 
&quot;While we are sad to see them go, we are excited by the opportunity to work with them as partners in the future,&quot; he said.

(Reuters)

Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, responsible for hit shows such as Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and The Crown, will join Apple

Apple has hired two long-time Sony Pictures Television executives to expand the iPhone maker's push into original television programming, plunging deeper into a field crowded by Hollywood studios and online streaming services. Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, responsible for hit shows such as Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and The Crown, will join Apple in newly created positions to oversee all aspects of video programming, the technology company said in a statement. "Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "There is much more to come," Cue said of Apple's video effort. The new hires demonstrate a serious commitment by another deep-pocketed technology company to produce quality television shows. Erlicht and Van Amburg have served as senior Sony television executives since 2005. But Apple did not elaborate on its strategy, leaving investors guessing how many shows it plans to distribute, how much it will spend and where the programming will be available. The company is playing in an increasingly competitive field. Amazon.com and Netflix have invested billions of dollars in award-winning comedies and dramas featuring A-list Hollywood stars. And social media company Facebook has signed deals with millennial-focused news and entertainment creators, including Vox and BuzzFeed, to make shows for its upcoming video service. Apple began its move last week with reality programme Planet of the Apps, an unscripted show about developers competing for venture capital funding. The series is available only to subscribers to Apple Music, a $10-a-month streaming service. Viewer data Apple has one huge advantage compared with other companies - 1 billion iPhones, iPads and other devices that run Apple's mobile operating system and offer a broad distribution platform. The company has widely promoted Planet of the Apps across iTunes, the App Store, Apple's website and elsewhere. As tech companies push further into the content business, pressure mounts on traditional media outlets that do not have the same amount of data on viewers or the ability for content to be a loss leader, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG. "These companies do not need to make money off video because they can make money other ways," Greenfield said. "And they are going to have tons of data on their viewers." It is more cost-effective for Apple to pay for original content and secure licensing deals on its own than to buy a content company, said Moody’s analyst Gerald Granovsky. "From a credit perspective, we’d much rather see Apple overpay to deliver original content than pay $50 billion to buy Netflix and basically compete for the same content," he said. "They’ll definitely get a better bang for their buck by focusing on their Apple TV product." Greenfield said news of Apple’s hires should put to rest rumours that Apple might acquire another content company, Walt Disney. "It’s pretty clear now that Apple isn’t buying Disney," he said. For Sony, the departures come as the Japanese conglomerate revamps its movie and television studio under new Chief Executive Tony Vinciquerra. In a memo to staff, Vinciquerra suggested Apple could be a buyer of Sony programming. "While we are sad to see them go, we are excited by the opportunity to work with them as partners in the future," he said. (Reuters)

Apple poaches two long-time Sony TV executives

Apple is concentrating on technology for self-driving cars, chief executive Tim Cook said for the first time in an interview with Bloomberg.

The company is focusing on autonomous systems, Cook told Bloomberg Television on June 5.

&quot;We&#39;re not really saying from a product point of view, what we will do ... it&#39;s a core technology that we view as very important,&quot; Cook said in the interview.

A late entrant to the self-driving race, Apple secured a permit in April to test autonomous vehicles in California and has recruited dozens of auto experts.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reuters)

A late entrant to the self-driving race, Apple secured a permit in April to test autonomous vehicles in California and has recruited dozens of auto experts.

Apple is concentrating on technology for self-driving cars, chief executive Tim Cook said for the first time in an interview with Bloomberg. The company is focusing on autonomous systems, Cook told Bloomberg Television on June 5. "We're not really saying from a product point of view, what we will do ... it's a core technology that we view as very important," Cook said in the interview. A late entrant to the self-driving race, Apple secured a permit in April to test autonomous vehicles in California and has recruited dozens of auto experts. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reuters)

Apple focusing on autonomous car system: CEO

Chinese authorities say they have uncovered a massive underground operation run by Apple employees selling computer and phone users&#39; personal data.

Twenty-two people have been detained on suspicion of infringing individuals&#39; privacy and illegally obtaining their digital personal information, according to a statement Wednesday from local police in southern Zhejiang province.

Of the 22 suspects, 20 were Apple employees who allegedly used the company&#39;s internal computer system to gather users&#39; names, phone numbers, Apple IDs, and other data, which they sold as part of a scam worth more than 50 million yuan ($7.36 million).

The statement did not specify whether the data belonged to Chinese or foreign Apple customers.

Following months of investigation, the statement said, police across more than four provinces - Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian - apprehended the suspects over the weekend, seizing their &quot;criminal tools&quot; and dismantling their online network.

The suspects, who worked in direct marketing and outsourcing for Apple in China, allegedly charged between 10 yuan ($1.50) and 180 yuan ($26.50) for pieces of the illegally extracted data.

The sale of personal information is common in China, which implemented on June 1 a controversial new cybersecurity law aimed at protecting the country&#39;s networks and private user information.

In December, an investigation by the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper exposed a black market for private data gathered from police and government databases.

Reporters successfully obtained a trove of material on one colleague - including flight history, hotel checkouts and property holdings - in exchange for a payment of 700 yuan ($100).

Twenty-two people have been detained on suspicion of infringing individuals' privacy and illegally obtaining their digital personal information

Chinese authorities say they have uncovered a massive underground operation run by Apple employees selling computer and phone users' personal data. Twenty-two people have been detained on suspicion of infringing individuals' privacy and illegally obtaining their digital personal information, according to a statement Wednesday from local police in southern Zhejiang province. Of the 22 suspects, 20 were Apple employees who allegedly used the company's internal computer system to gather users' names, phone numbers, Apple IDs, and other data, which they sold as part of a scam worth more than 50 million yuan ($7.36 million). The statement did not specify whether the data belonged to Chinese or foreign Apple customers. Following months of investigation, the statement said, police across more than four provinces - Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian - apprehended the suspects over the weekend, seizing their "criminal tools" and dismantling their online network. The suspects, who worked in direct marketing and outsourcing for Apple in China, allegedly charged between 10 yuan ($1.50) and 180 yuan ($26.50) for pieces of the illegally extracted data. The sale of personal information is common in China, which implemented on June 1 a controversial new cybersecurity law aimed at protecting the country's networks and private user information. In December, an investigation by the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper exposed a black market for private data gathered from police and government databases. Reporters successfully obtained a trove of material on one colleague - including flight history, hotel checkouts and property holdings - in exchange for a payment of 700 yuan ($100).

Chinese Apple staff suspected of selling private data

Hey Siri, where can I get my cracked iPhone screen fixed?

Apple customers will soon have more choices as the company looks to reduce long wait times for iPhone repairs at its retail stores. By the end of 2017, Apple will put its proprietary machines for mending cracked iPhone glass in about 400 authorised third-party repair centers in 25 countries, company executives told Reuters.

Among the first recipients is Minneapolis-based Best Buy, which has long sold and serviced Apple products. The electronics retailer already has one of the screen-repair machines at a Miami-area store and one coming soon to an outlet in Sunnyvale, California.

Fixing cracked screens may seem like small potatoes, but it&#39;s a multi-billion-dollar global business. The move is also a major shift for Apple. The company had previously restricted use of its so-called Horizon Machine to its nearly 500 retail stores and mail-in repair centers; and it has guarded its design closely.

The change also comes as eight US states have launched &quot;right to repair&quot; bills aimed at prying open the tightly controlled repair networks of Apple and other high-tech manufacturers.

Apple said legislative pressure was not a factor in its decision to share its technology. It allowed Reuters to view and photograph the machines in action at a lab near its Cupertino, California headquarters. Until now, Apple had never formally acknowledged the Horizon Machine&#39;s existence.

The initial rollout aims to put machines in 200, or about 4 per cent, of Apple&#39;s 4,800 authorised service providers worldwide over the next few months. The company plans to double that figure by the end of the year.

&quot;We&#39;ve been on a quest to expand our reach,&quot; said Brian Naumann, senior director of service operations at Apple. He said repair wait times have grown at some of the company&#39;s busiest retail stores.

Pilot testing started a year ago. In addition to Miami, a few machines already are operating at third-party repair centers in the Bay Area, London, Shanghai and Singapore. Shops in some countries where Apple has no retail presence will also be early recipients, including locations in Colombia, Norway and South Korea. Apple would not say how much its partners are paying for the equipment.

To be sure, any mall repair kiosk can replace a cracked iPhone screen. Apple says its customers can get their devices fixed at non-authorized shops without voiding their warranties as long as the technician caused no damage.

But the Horizon Machine is needed to remedy the trickiest mishaps, such as when the fingerprint sensor attached to the back of the glass gets damaged when a phone is dropped.

For security, only Apple&#39;s fix-it machine can tell the iPhone&#39;s processor, its silicon brain, to recognise a replacement sensor. Without it, the iPhone won&#39;t unlock with the touch of a finger. Banking apps that require a fingerprint won&#39;t work either, including the Apple Pay digital wallet.

&quot;Right to repair&quot; gaining steam

Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones worldwide, many to customers who don&#39;t live near an Apple Store or an authorized third-party repair centre.

For fixes, many have turned to mom-and-pop shops and independent technicians that now dominate the trade. Research firm IBISWorld estimates the global cell phone repair business generates about $4 billion in revenue per year.

Many of these entrepreneurs do good work. Some don&#39;t. All use copycat parts because Apple, like other major manufacturers, doesn&#39;t supply original parts or repair manuals to anyone but authorised service partners.

Big companies defend this arrangement as the only way they can guarantee high-quality repair work and keep hackers away from the proprietary software that makes their products tick.

Consumer advocates, however, say their aim is to wring outsized profits from repairs. Independent technicians often charge less than the cost of a factory fix.

Enter right-to-repair bills. New York, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Wyoming have introduced legislation looking to aid small shops and do-it-yourself tinkerers.

These proposed measures would require manufacturers to supply repair manuals, diagnostic tools and authentic replacement parts at fair prices to independent technicians and the general public.

Apple, heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc and medical device maker Medtronic have lobbied against New York&#39;s bill. In Nebraska, Apple sent its state and local lobbying chief Steve Kester to visit the Republican lawmaker sponsoring that state&#39;s measure.

&quot;Apple is telling me this is a bad thing because you&#39;re going to have a mecca for hackers in Nebraska,&quot; State Sen. Lydia Brasch said of Kester&#39;s February visit.

Apple hasn&#39;t commented on the bills, but a trade group it belongs to contends the Nebraska measure would force the company to divulge how it secures sensitive data on the iPhone.

&quot;Think about how much of our personal lives are in this device,&quot; said Mike Lanigan, head engineer for Apple&#39;s service efforts.

Inside the lab

Apple got into the screen-fixing business just three years ago with the introduction of the iPhone 5. Up until then, customers whose phones were out of warranty paid a &quot;repair&quot; fee, but Apple simply replaced the entire phone.

Lanigan said customers have been requesting repair service since shortly after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, but the company waited until it could perfect the process.

&quot;We view the service aspect of this as all part of the overall Apple experience,&quot; Lanigan said.

Apple doesn&#39;t break out repair revenue in its financial statements. Analysts estimate it at $1 billion to $2 billion annually for all products.

As Apple&#39;s screen mending has matured, its prices have dropped to $129 to $149, depending on screen size, from $229. That&#39;s competitive with many independent shops for newer iPhones. Still, some technicians charge as little as $60 to fix older models.

Apple says its process aims to make the display look like it just came out of the box. To demonstrate, the company allowed Reuters to observe the Horizon Machine at a repair lab in Sunnyvale, California.

In the cavernous, brightly lit lab painted in Apple&#39;s signature sparkling white, two lab technicians clad in T-shirts, shorts and tennis shoes scurried between rows of long white metal tables stuffed with test equipment.

Dozens of Horizon Machines lined the tables. The contraptions, gray metal boxes the size of a microwave with a swing-out windowed door, vary slightly in shape depending on the model of iPhone they repair. Apple would not say where the machines were made or by whom.

In a smaller training room, a technician laid out the tools Apple uses to fix iPhone screens: special screwdrivers for the iPhone&#39;s five- and three-lobed screws, a custom suction-cup for loosening the screen without tearing the delicate ribbon cables behind it, and a press to squeeze iPhone 7s to ensure waterproofing.

Once the new screen is mounted, the iPhone goes into the Horizon Machine, which allows Apple&#39;s software to communicate with the fresh hardware. Over the course of 10 to 12 minutes, the machine talks to the phone&#39;s operating system to pair the fingerprint sensor to the phone&#39;s brain.

While that unfolds, a mechanical finger jabs the screen in multiple places to test the touch-sensitive surface. The machine also fine tunes the display and software to match the precise colors and calibration of the original.

&quot;We design for a customer experience that exceeds anything our competitors try to do,&quot; said Naumann, Apple&#39;s service chief. &quot;We endeavour to make it right at the same standard as when the customer bought the product.&quot;

(Reuters)

By the end of 2017, Apple will put its proprietary machines for mending cracked iPhone glass in about 400 authorised third-party repair centers in 25 countries.

Hey Siri, where can I get my cracked iPhone screen fixed? Apple customers will soon have more choices as the company looks to reduce long wait times for iPhone repairs at its retail stores. By the end of 2017, Apple will put its proprietary machines for mending cracked iPhone glass in about 400 authorised third-party repair centers in 25 countries, company executives told Reuters. Among the first recipients is Minneapolis-based Best Buy, which has long sold and serviced Apple products. The electronics retailer already has one of the screen-repair machines at a Miami-area store and one coming soon to an outlet in Sunnyvale, California. Fixing cracked screens may seem like small potatoes, but it's a multi-billion-dollar global business. The move is also a major shift for Apple. The company had previously restricted use of its so-called Horizon Machine to its nearly 500 retail stores and mail-in repair centers; and it has guarded its design closely. The change also comes as eight US states have launched "right to repair" bills aimed at prying open the tightly controlled repair networks of Apple and other high-tech manufacturers. Apple said legislative pressure was not a factor in its decision to share its technology. It allowed Reuters to view and photograph the machines in action at a lab near its Cupertino, California headquarters. Until now, Apple had never formally acknowledged the Horizon Machine's existence. The initial rollout aims to put machines in 200, or about 4 per cent, of Apple's 4,800 authorised service providers worldwide over the next few months. The company plans to double that figure by the end of the year. "We've been on a quest to expand our reach," said Brian Naumann, senior director of service operations at Apple. He said repair wait times have grown at some of the company's busiest retail stores. Pilot testing started a year ago. In addition to Miami, a few machines already are operating at third-party repair centers in the Bay Area, London, Shanghai and Singapore. Shops in some countries where Apple has no retail presence will also be early recipients, including locations in Colombia, Norway and South Korea. Apple would not say how much its partners are paying for the equipment. To be sure, any mall repair kiosk can replace a cracked iPhone screen. Apple says its customers can get their devices fixed at non-authorized shops without voiding their warranties as long as the technician caused no damage. But the Horizon Machine is needed to remedy the trickiest mishaps, such as when the fingerprint sensor attached to the back of the glass gets damaged when a phone is dropped. For security, only Apple's fix-it machine can tell the iPhone's processor, its silicon brain, to recognise a replacement sensor. Without it, the iPhone won't unlock with the touch of a finger. Banking apps that require a fingerprint won't work either, including the Apple Pay digital wallet. "Right to repair" gaining steam Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones worldwide, many to customers who don't live near an Apple Store or an authorized third-party repair centre. For fixes, many have turned to mom-and-pop shops and independent technicians that now dominate the trade. Research firm IBISWorld estimates the global cell phone repair business generates about $4 billion in revenue per year. Many of these entrepreneurs do good work. Some don't. All use copycat parts because Apple, like other major manufacturers, doesn't supply original parts or repair manuals to anyone but authorised service partners. Big companies defend this arrangement as the only way they can guarantee high-quality repair work and keep hackers away from the proprietary software that makes their products tick. Consumer advocates, however, say their aim is to wring outsized profits from repairs. Independent technicians often charge less than the cost of a factory fix. Enter right-to-repair bills. New York, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Wyoming have introduced legislation looking to aid small shops and do-it-yourself tinkerers. These proposed measures would require manufacturers to supply repair manuals, diagnostic tools and authentic replacement parts at fair prices to independent technicians and the general public. Apple, heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc and medical device maker Medtronic have lobbied against New York's bill. In Nebraska, Apple sent its state and local lobbying chief Steve Kester to visit the Republican lawmaker sponsoring that state's measure. "Apple is telling me this is a bad thing because you're going to have a mecca for hackers in Nebraska," State Sen. Lydia Brasch said of Kester's February visit. Apple hasn't commented on the bills, but a trade group it belongs to contends the Nebraska measure would force the company to divulge how it secures sensitive data on the iPhone. "Think about how much of our personal lives are in this device," said Mike Lanigan, head engineer for Apple's service efforts. Inside the lab Apple got into the screen-fixing business just three years ago with the introduction of the iPhone 5. Up until then, customers whose phones were out of warranty paid a "repair" fee, but Apple simply replaced the entire phone. Lanigan said customers have been requesting repair service since shortly after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, but the company waited until it could perfect the process. "We view the service aspect of this as all part of the overall Apple experience," Lanigan said. Apple doesn't break out repair revenue in its financial statements. Analysts estimate it at $1 billion to $2 billion annually for all products. As Apple's screen mending has matured, its prices have dropped to $129 to $149, depending on screen size, from $229. That's competitive with many independent shops for newer iPhones. Still, some technicians charge as little as $60 to fix older models. Apple says its process aims to make the display look like it just came out of the box. To demonstrate, the company allowed Reuters to observe the Horizon Machine at a repair lab in Sunnyvale, California. In the cavernous, brightly lit lab painted in Apple's signature sparkling white, two lab technicians clad in T-shirts, shorts and tennis shoes scurried between rows of long white metal tables stuffed with test equipment. Dozens of Horizon Machines lined the tables. The contraptions, gray metal boxes the size of a microwave with a swing-out windowed door, vary slightly in shape depending on the model of iPhone they repair. Apple would not say where the machines were made or by whom. In a smaller training room, a technician laid out the tools Apple uses to fix iPhone screens: special screwdrivers for the iPhone's five- and three-lobed screws, a custom suction-cup for loosening the screen without tearing the delicate ribbon cables behind it, and a press to squeeze iPhone 7s to ensure waterproofing. Once the new screen is mounted, the iPhone goes into the Horizon Machine, which allows Apple's software to communicate with the fresh hardware. Over the course of 10 to 12 minutes, the machine talks to the phone's operating system to pair the fingerprint sensor to the phone's brain. While that unfolds, a mechanical finger jabs the screen in multiple places to test the touch-sensitive surface. The machine also fine tunes the display and software to match the precise colors and calibration of the original. "We design for a customer experience that exceeds anything our competitors try to do," said Naumann, Apple's service chief. "We endeavour to make it right at the same standard as when the customer bought the product." (Reuters)

Now, it will be a lot easier to get your broken iPhones fixed

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Monday that Amazon Prime Video would be available on Apple TV and other Apple devices starting later this year.

Apple has about 50 media partners that supply content to its Apple TV and on the television app on its popular iPhone. But Amazon&#39;s service, which includes hit shows like &quot;Transparent,&quot; has been a notable absence from Apple&#39;s hardware.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/apple-debuts-homepod-speaker-to-take-on-amazon-google-16472">Also read: Apple debuts HomePod speaker to take on Amazon, Google</a>

CEO Tim Cook also used the Apple keynote to show off new iPad and Mac computer models, as well as provide glimpses at coming versions of the software powering the technology titan&#39;s devices.

Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said the next Mac operating system will be named &quot;High Sierra&quot; in tribute to the California mountain range.

High Sierra features will include being able to stop unexpected videos from starting to play automatically when landing on web pages and &quot;intelligent tracking prevention&quot; that will prevent ads from following people about the internet.

High Sierra will be released later this year as a free update, according to Federighi.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

Apple has about 50 media partners that supply content to its Apple TV and on the television app on its popular iPhone.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Monday that Amazon Prime Video would be available on Apple TV and other Apple devices starting later this year. Apple has about 50 media partners that supply content to its Apple TV and on the television app on its popular iPhone. But Amazon's service, which includes hit shows like "Transparent," has been a notable absence from Apple's hardware. Also read: Apple debuts HomePod speaker to take on Amazon, Google CEO Tim Cook also used the Apple keynote to show off new iPad and Mac computer models, as well as provide glimpses at coming versions of the software powering the technology titan's devices. Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said the next Mac operating system will be named "High Sierra" in tribute to the California mountain range. High Sierra features will include being able to stop unexpected videos from starting to play automatically when landing on web pages and "intelligent tracking prevention" that will prevent ads from following people about the internet. High Sierra will be released later this year as a free update, according to Federighi. (WION with inputs from agencies)

WWDC 2017: Amazon Prime Video coming to Apple devices

Apple is expected to announce plans next week to make its Siri voice assistant work with a larger variety of apps, as the technology company looks to counter the runaway success of Amazon&#39;s competing Alexa service.

But the Cupertino, California company is likely to stick to its tested method of focusing on a small amount of features and trying to perfect them, rather than casting as wide a net as possible, according to engineers and artificial intelligence industry insiders.

Currently, Apple&#39;s Siri works with only six types of apps - ride-hailing and sharing; messaging and calling; photo search; payments; fitness; and auto infotainment systems. At the company&#39;s annual developer conference next week, it is expected to add to those categories.

Some industry-watchers have also predicted Apple will announce hardware similar to Amazon&#39;s Echo device for the home, which has been a hot-seller recently. Apple declined comment.

But even if Siri doubles its areas of expertise, it will be a far cry from the 12,000 or so tasks that Amazon&#39;s Alexa can handle.

The difference illustrates a strategic divide between the two tech rivals. Apple is betting that customers will not use voice commands without an experience similar to speaking with a human, and so it is limiting what Siri can do in order to make sure it works well.

Amazon puts no such restrictions on Alexa, wagering that the voice assistant with the most &quot;skills,&quot; its term for apps on its Echo assistant devices, will gain a loyal following, even if it sometimes makes mistakes and takes more effort to use.

The clash of approaches is coming to a head as virtual assistants that respond to voice commands become a priority for the leading tech companies, which want to find new ways of engaging customers and make more money from shopping and online services.

Path to the money

Now, an iPhone user can say, &quot;Hey Siri, I&#39;d like a ride to the airport&quot; or &quot;Hey Siri, order me a car,&quot; and Siri will open the Uber or Lyft ride service app and start booking a trip.

Apart from some basic home and music functions, Alexa needs more specific directions, using a limited set of commands such as &quot;ask&quot; or &quot;tell.&quot; For example, &quot;Alexa, ask Uber for a ride,&quot; will start the process of summoning a car, but &quot;Alexa, order me an Uber&quot; will not, because Alexa does not make the connection that it should open the Uber &quot;skill.&quot;

After some setup, Alexa can order a pizza from Domino&#39;s, while Siri cannot get a pie because food delivery is not - so far - one of the categories of apps that Apple has opened up to Siri.

&quot;In typical Apple fashion, they&#39;ve allowed for only a few use cases, but they do them very well,&quot; said Charles Jolley, chief executive of Ozlo, maker of an intelligent assistant app.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said the company does not comment on its plans for developers. 
Amazon said in a statement: &quot;Our goal is to make speaking with Alexa as natural and easy as possible, so we&rsquo;re looking at ways to improve this over time.&quot;

Side dish, not entree

Apple&#39;s narrower focus could become a problem, said Matt McIlwain, a venture capitalist with Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group.

The potential of Apple&#39;s original iPhone did not come to light until thousands of developers started building apps. McIlwain said he expects Apple to add new categories at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week, but not nearly enough to match Alexa&#39;s number of skills.

&quot;To attract developers in the modern world, you need a platform,&quot; McIlwain said. &quot;If Apple does not launch a &#39;skills store,&#39; that would be a mistake.&quot;

Neither Siri nor Alexa has a clear path to making money. Siri works as an additional tool for controlling traditional apps, and Apple pays money to owners of those apps. Alexa&#39;s skills are free, and developers are not paid.

At the moment, because of their limits, voice apps are &quot;a side dish, not the entree,&quot; according to Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Amazon was wise to not commit to an economic model at such an early state, Etzioni said. &quot;Once a successful economic model for developers emerges, people are going to gravitate to it.&quot;

(Reuters)

Currently, Apple's Siri works with only six types of apps

Apple is expected to announce plans next week to make its Siri voice assistant work with a larger variety of apps, as the technology company looks to counter the runaway success of Amazon's competing Alexa service. But the Cupertino, California company is likely to stick to its tested method of focusing on a small amount of features and trying to perfect them, rather than casting as wide a net as possible, according to engineers and artificial intelligence industry insiders. Currently, Apple's Siri works with only six types of apps - ride-hailing and sharing; messaging and calling; photo search; payments; fitness; and auto infotainment systems. At the company's annual developer conference next week, it is expected to add to those categories. Some industry-watchers have also predicted Apple will announce hardware similar to Amazon's Echo device for the home, which has been a hot-seller recently. Apple declined comment. But even if Siri doubles its areas of expertise, it will be a far cry from the 12,000 or so tasks that Amazon's Alexa can handle. The difference illustrates a strategic divide between the two tech rivals. Apple is betting that customers will not use voice commands without an experience similar to speaking with a human, and so it is limiting what Siri can do in order to make sure it works well. Amazon puts no such restrictions on Alexa, wagering that the voice assistant with the most "skills," its term for apps on its Echo assistant devices, will gain a loyal following, even if it sometimes makes mistakes and takes more effort to use. The clash of approaches is coming to a head as virtual assistants that respond to voice commands become a priority for the leading tech companies, which want to find new ways of engaging customers and make more money from shopping and online services. Path to the money Now, an iPhone user can say, "Hey Siri, I'd like a ride to the airport" or "Hey Siri, order me a car," and Siri will open the Uber or Lyft ride service app and start booking a trip. Apart from some basic home and music functions, Alexa needs more specific directions, using a limited set of commands such as "ask" or "tell." For example, "Alexa, ask Uber for a ride," will start the process of summoning a car, but "Alexa, order me an Uber" will not, because Alexa does not make the connection that it should open the Uber "skill." After some setup, Alexa can order a pizza from Domino's, while Siri cannot get a pie because food delivery is not - so far - one of the categories of apps that Apple has opened up to Siri. "In typical Apple fashion, they've allowed for only a few use cases, but they do them very well," said Charles Jolley, chief executive of Ozlo, maker of an intelligent assistant app. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said the company does not comment on its plans for developers. Amazon said in a statement: "Our goal is to make speaking with Alexa as natural and easy as possible, so we’re looking at ways to improve this over time." Side dish, not entree Apple's narrower focus could become a problem, said Matt McIlwain, a venture capitalist with Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group. The potential of Apple's original iPhone did not come to light until thousands of developers started building apps. McIlwain said he expects Apple to add new categories at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week, but not nearly enough to match Alexa's number of skills. "To attract developers in the modern world, you need a platform," McIlwain said. "If Apple does not launch a 'skills store,' that would be a mistake." Neither Siri nor Alexa has a clear path to making money. Siri works as an additional tool for controlling traditional apps, and Apple pays money to owners of those apps. Alexa's skills are free, and developers are not paid. At the moment, because of their limits, voice apps are "a side dish, not the entree," according to Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Amazon was wise to not commit to an economic model at such an early state, Etzioni said. "Once a successful economic model for developers emerges, people are going to gravitate to it." (Reuters)

WWDC 2017: Apple set to make Siri work with a larger variety of apps

Apple Music streaming service will release its adaptation of comedian James Corden&#39;s &quot;Carpool Karaoke&quot; to subscribers beginning on August 8, the company said on its website.

The technology giant had previously announced that &quot;Carpool Karaoke: The Series&quot; would be launched in April as part of a move into original video for Apple Music, a $9.99-a-month streaming service. Apple later delayed the release without providing an explanation, Reuters reported.

The series for Apple Music is an adaptation of a popular segment that runs during CBS Corp&#39;s &quot;The Late Late Show with James Corden&quot; and sees him driving with a celebrity and singing a medley of songs.

Corden will appear in the Apple Music series with basketball superstar LeBron James and actor Will Smith, according to Apple&#39;s statement. Other episodes feature celebrity pairings including John Legend with Alicia Keyes and Taraji P. Henson, and Miley Cyrus with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, and other family members.

New episodes of the series will be released on Apple Music on Tuesdays, the company said. &quot;Carpool Karaoke&quot; will continue to be a recurring segment on &quot;The Late Late Show.&quot;

(Reuters)

The series for Apple Music is an adaptation of a popular segment that runs during CBS Corp's 'The Late Late Show with James Corden'

Apple Music streaming service will release its adaptation of comedian James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" to subscribers beginning on August 8, the company said on its website. The technology giant had previously announced that "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" would be launched in April as part of a move into original video for Apple Music, a $9.99-a-month streaming service. Apple later delayed the release without providing an explanation, Reuters reported. The series for Apple Music is an adaptation of a popular segment that runs during CBS Corp's "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and sees him driving with a celebrity and singing a medley of songs. Corden will appear in the Apple Music series with basketball superstar LeBron James and actor Will Smith, according to Apple's statement. Other episodes feature celebrity pairings including John Legend with Alicia Keyes and Taraji P. Henson, and Miley Cyrus with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, and other family members. New episodes of the series will be released on Apple Music on Tuesdays, the company said. "Carpool Karaoke" will continue to be a recurring segment on "The Late Late Show." (Reuters)

Apple Music sets August 8 as new release date for 'Carpool Karaoke'

Apple has settled a patent dispute with Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia and agreed to buy more of its network products and services, sending Nokia shares up 7 per cent.

The deal means Nokia will get bigger royalties from Apple for using its mobile phone patents, helping offset the impact of waning demand for its mobile network hardware.

Such legal battles are common in the industry but can drag on for years and analysts had not been expecting such a quick resolution to the dispute that started in December.

Under the deal announced in a joint statement from the companies on Tuesday, Nokia will also supply network infrastructure products to Apple, and Apple will resume sales of Nokia&#39;s digital health products in retail and online stores and look at further collaboration in health.

Digital health is one of the areas Nokia is targeting as it tries to develop new businesses to offset the industry-wide slump in demand for network equipment. Last year, Nokia bought France&#39;s Withings S.A., a small firm with products such as activity trackers and baby monitors built on digital platforms.

&quot;There could emerge big future value from this as Apple could become an important distribution channel,&quot; said Handelsbanken analyst Daniel Djurberg, who has an &quot;accumulate&quot; recommendation for Nokia shares.

&quot;I have not given any value so far for Nokia&#39;s digital health business, but might apply an option value to it.&quot;

Indutrial deal

Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri told the company&#39;s annual general meeting later on Tuesday that the deal would help expand network sales beyond telecom operators to global internet and technology giants.

&quot;(The deal) involves a business collaboration ... in particular in areas of IP and optical equipment, which is quite key to webscale players when they build their data centers,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#39;s a good deal, a multi-year licensing deal, and I love it that it has an industrial deal and aspect to it.&quot;

Under the patent license agreement, Nokia will receive a &quot;significant&quot; upfront cash payment and additional revenues from Apple starting from the current quarter. The companies did not give further details but analysts said the revenue was likely to be far higher than a previous deal.

Inge Heydorn, fund manager at Sentat Asset Management, said it was a smart move to collaborate on digital health products.

&quot;It&#39;s interesting for Nokia in a 5&nbsp;to 10&nbsp;year perspective since I think it will be hard to be profitable within mobile infrastructure,&quot; said Heydorn, whose firm does not hold any shares in Nokia.

Nokia shares, which fell in December when the patent dispute was announced, jumped to their highest since February 2016 and were up 6.7 per cent at 5.89 euros&nbsp;by 1509 GMT.

A previous patent license contract between the companies expired last year, and both sides took legal action in December. Apple complained of being overcharged and Nokia responded by accusing Apple of violating technology patents.

In the absence of a new deal, Nokia cut its annual run-rate forecast in December for patent and brand licensing sales to 800 million euros ($900 million) from 950 million euros ($1000 million) previously. In its latest quarterly report released in April, Nokia stopped giving an annual run-rate forecast altogether.

&quot;(The agreement) moves our relationship with Apple from being adversaries in court to business partners,&quot; Nokia&#39;s Chief Legal Officer Maria Varsellona said in a statement.

Quick resolution

Analysts were surprised by the relatively quick resolution of the dispute between Apple and Nokia.

&quot;Nokia told analysts in April don&#39;t calculate on any license revenue from Apple, not even in 2018, so this is a positive surprise. It will also limit Nokia&#39;s legal expenses,&quot; said Djurberg who said he would probably raise his Nokia estimates.

&quot;For Nokia, it&#39;s good news they got this out of the way, but we still have to wait for details about the financial impact,&quot; said OP Equities analyst Hannu Rauhala.

&quot;The previous annual rate was 150 million euros ($167 million), so I assume this to be more, around 500 million euros ($558 million).&quot;

Rauhala said Apple might have been willing to settle with Nokia as the US&nbsp;company&#39;s patent battle with chipmaker Qualcomm has escalated.

Patent royalties represent only a sliver of Nokia&#39;s overall revenue, more than 90 per cent of which comes from telecom&nbsp;network equipment. But licensing payments are highly profitable and the network business is suffering an industry-wide slump.

Nokia&#39;s patents cover technology that reduces the need for hardware components in a phone, conserves battery life, increases radio reception, helps in recovering lost phones and enables voice recognition, among other features.

Once the world&#39;s dominant cellphone maker, Nokia sold its handset business to Microsoft in 2014 to focus on its network business and large portfolio of mobile device patents.

Nokia&#39;s total sales in 2016 were about 24 billion euros ($27 billion).

(Reuters)

Nokia will get bigger royalties from Apple for using its mobile phone patents

Apple has settled a patent dispute with Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia and agreed to buy more of its network products and services, sending Nokia shares up 7 per cent. The deal means Nokia will get bigger royalties from Apple for using its mobile phone patents, helping offset the impact of waning demand for its mobile network hardware. Such legal battles are common in the industry but can drag on for years and analysts had not been expecting such a quick resolution to the dispute that started in December. Under the deal announced in a joint statement from the companies on Tuesday, Nokia will also supply network infrastructure products to Apple, and Apple will resume sales of Nokia's digital health products in retail and online stores and look at further collaboration in health. Digital health is one of the areas Nokia is targeting as it tries to develop new businesses to offset the industry-wide slump in demand for network equipment. Last year, Nokia bought France's Withings S.A., a small firm with products such as activity trackers and baby monitors built on digital platforms. "There could emerge big future value from this as Apple could become an important distribution channel," said Handelsbanken analyst Daniel Djurberg, who has an "accumulate" recommendation for Nokia shares. "I have not given any value so far for Nokia's digital health business, but might apply an option value to it." Indutrial deal Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri told the company's annual general meeting later on Tuesday that the deal would help expand network sales beyond telecom operators to global internet and technology giants. "(The deal) involves a business collaboration ... in particular in areas of IP and optical equipment, which is quite key to webscale players when they build their data centers," he said. "It's a good deal, a multi-year licensing deal, and I love it that it has an industrial deal and aspect to it." Under the patent license agreement, Nokia will receive a "significant" upfront cash payment and additional revenues from Apple starting from the current quarter. The companies did not give further details but analysts said the revenue was likely to be far higher than a previous deal. Inge Heydorn, fund manager at Sentat Asset Management, said it was a smart move to collaborate on digital health products. "It's interesting for Nokia in a 5 to 10 year perspective since I think it will be hard to be profitable within mobile infrastructure," said Heydorn, whose firm does not hold any shares in Nokia. Nokia shares, which fell in December when the patent dispute was announced, jumped to their highest since February 2016 and were up 6.7 per cent at 5.89 euros by 1509 GMT. A previous patent license contract between the companies expired last year, and both sides took legal action in December. Apple complained of being overcharged and Nokia responded by accusing Apple of violating technology patents. In the absence of a new deal, Nokia cut its annual run-rate forecast in December for patent and brand licensing sales to 800 million euros ($900 million) from 950 million euros ($1000 million) previously. In its latest quarterly report released in April, Nokia stopped giving an annual run-rate forecast altogether. "(The agreement) moves our relationship with Apple from being adversaries in court to business partners," Nokia's Chief Legal Officer Maria Varsellona said in a statement. Quick resolution Analysts were surprised by the relatively quick resolution of the dispute between Apple and Nokia. "Nokia told analysts in April don't calculate on any license revenue from Apple, not even in 2018, so this is a positive surprise. It will also limit Nokia's legal expenses," said Djurberg who said he would probably raise his Nokia estimates. "For Nokia, it's good news they got this out of the way, but we still have to wait for details about the financial impact," said OP Equities analyst Hannu Rauhala. "The previous annual rate was 150 million euros ($167 million), so I assume this to be more, around 500 million euros ($558 million)." Rauhala said Apple might have been willing to settle with Nokia as the US company's patent battle with chipmaker Qualcomm has escalated. Patent royalties represent only a sliver of Nokia's overall revenue, more than 90 per cent of which comes from telecom network equipment. But licensing payments are highly profitable and the network business is suffering an industry-wide slump. Nokia's patents cover technology that reduces the need for hardware components in a phone, conserves battery life, increases radio reception, helps in recovering lost phones and enables voice recognition, among other features. Once the world's dominant cellphone maker, Nokia sold its handset business to Microsoft in 2014 to focus on its network business and large portfolio of mobile device patents. Nokia's total sales in 2016 were about 24 billion euros ($27 billion). (Reuters)

Nokia and Apple see deeper partnership after ending patent dispute

Apple wants to expand its contract manufacturer&#39;s facility in the tech hub of Bengaluru, a union minister said on Tuesday, as the iPhone maker seeks a bigger share in one of the world&#39;s biggest smartphone markets.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, the union minister for Electronics and IT said, government officials were in touch with Apple and other mobile phone manufacturers for expanding facilities and setting up new plants.

Cupertino, California-based Apple last week started making iPhone SE at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron&#39;s plant in Bengaluru.

(Reuters)

Apple last week started making iPhone SE at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron's plant in Bengaluru

Apple wants to expand its contract manufacturer's facility in the tech hub of Bengaluru, a union minister said on Tuesday, as the iPhone maker seeks a bigger share in one of the world's biggest smartphone markets. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the union minister for Electronics and IT said, government officials were in touch with Apple and other mobile phone manufacturers for expanding facilities and setting up new plants. Cupertino, California-based Apple last week started making iPhone SE at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron's plant in Bengaluru. (Reuters)

Apple in talks to expand India production capacity

Citigroup listed seven companies as potential takeover targets for Apple, including Netflix, Walt Disney and Tesla, as a way to put its cash hoard of more than $250 billion to work.

With over 90 per cent of its cash sitting overseas, a one-time 10 per cent repatriation tax would give Apple $220 billion for acquisitions or buybacks, Citigroup analyst Jim Suva said in a note to clients.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s tax blueprint, which was unveiled last month, proposes allowing multinationals to bring in overseas profits at a tax rate of 10 per cent versus 35 per cent now. &quot;Since one of the new administration&#39;s top priorities is to allow US companies to repatriate overseas cash at a lower tax rate, Apple may have a more acute need to put this cash to use,&quot; Suva said.

The analyst is rated three out of five stars for his recommendations on Apple, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. The other potential acquisition targets include video game developers Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive Software as well as video streaming service Hulu. The analyst said the targets were screened considering five criteria - strategic fit, global scale, transaction size, few non-strategic assets and likely impact on Apple&#39;s share price.

Under pressure from shareholders to hand over more of its cash hoard, Apple recently boosted its capital return program by $50 billion, increased its share buyback program by $35 billion and raised its quarterly dividend by 10.5 per cent.

(Reuters)

A one-time 10 percent repatriation tax would give Apple $220 billion for acquisitions or buybacks

Citigroup listed seven companies as potential takeover targets for Apple, including Netflix, Walt Disney and Tesla, as a way to put its cash hoard of more than $250 billion to work. With over 90 per cent of its cash sitting overseas, a one-time 10 per cent repatriation tax would give Apple $220 billion for acquisitions or buybacks, Citigroup analyst Jim Suva said in a note to clients. US President Donald Trump's tax blueprint, which was unveiled last month, proposes allowing multinationals to bring in overseas profits at a tax rate of 10 per cent versus 35 per cent now. "Since one of the new administration's top priorities is to allow US companies to repatriate overseas cash at a lower tax rate, Apple may have a more acute need to put this cash to use," Suva said. The analyst is rated three out of five stars for his recommendations on Apple, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. The other potential acquisition targets include video game developers Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive Software as well as video streaming service Hulu. The analyst said the targets were screened considering five criteria - strategic fit, global scale, transaction size, few non-strategic assets and likely impact on Apple's share price. Under pressure from shareholders to hand over more of its cash hoard, Apple recently boosted its capital return program by $50 billion, increased its share buyback program by $35 billion and raised its quarterly dividend by 10.5 per cent. (Reuters)

Netflix, Tesla listed as potential takeover targets for Apple

Acknowledging that Apple is &quot;underpenetrated&quot; in India, CEO Tim Cook has said the US tech giant is strengthening its local presence in the country and is optimistic about its future given the fast-growing economy and improving 4G network infrastructure in the country.

&quot;We set a new March quarter record for India, where revenue grew by strong double digits. We continue to strengthen our local presence across the entire ecosystem, and we&#39;re very optimistic about our future in this remarkable country with its very large, young, and tech-savvy population, fast-growing economy, and improving 4G network infrastructure,&quot; Cook said in the second quarter results earnings call yesterday.

Cook was asked that the California-based company is underpenetrated in India and whether the company will need to work with the country&#39;s government to have Apple-owned stores or production given the great opportunity in the country.

&quot;We think it&#39;s a great opportunity too, and so we&#39;re bringing all the things that we brought to bear in other markets that we&#39;ve eventually done well in, and that&#39;s from channel to stores to our ecosystem and so forth,&rdquo; Cook said.

Apple&rsquo;s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller was in India opening a developer centre last quarter. 
&quot;And so there are a ton of things going on there (India). And we agree that we are underpenetrated there. Our growth rates are good, really good by most people&#39;s expectations, maybe not mine as much,&rdquo; Cook said.

He said the iPhone maker is putting a &quot;lot of energy&quot; in India, just like Apple has in other geographies that eventually wound up producing more. &quot;So I&#39;m very excited about it,&rdquo; he said.

Cook emphasised that the 4G network investment began rolling in in a significant way toward the last quarter of last year in India, which is the third largest smartphone market in the world today behind China and the US.

&quot;But they are moving fast. They&#39;re moving at a speed that I have not seen in any other country in the world once they were started, and it is truly impressive,&rdquo; he said.

Apple has been &quot;investing quite a bit&quot; in India and has a &quot;ton of energy&quot; going into the country on a number of fronts. 
Cook sounded a bullish tone for the future of Apple in India as the 4G network infrastructure grows in the country.

&quot;And so we believe, particularly now that the 4G infrastructure is going in the country and is continuing to be expanded, that there is a huge opportunity for Apple there. And so that and the demographics of the country is why we&#39;re putting so much energy there,&quot; he said.

Apple&rsquo;s senior vice president and chief financial officer Luca Maestri said the company achieved double-digit growth in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Russia and Mexico.

Apple&rsquo;s growth rates were even higher, over 20 per cent in many other markets, including Brazil, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, India, Korea and Thailand,?Maestri?said.

Apple posted revenue of $52.9 billion for its fiscal 2017 second quarter ended April 1, 2017, up from $50.6 billion in the year-ago quarter.

International sales accounted for 65 per cent of the quarter&rsquo;s revenue. It reported net income of $11 billion for the second quarter as compared to $10 billion a year ago.

The company said that the number of iPhones sold globally fell 1 per cent in the first calendar quarter, compared with the same period a year ago.

It sold 50.76 million iPhones in its fiscal second quarter ended April 1, down from 51.19 million a year earlier.

(PTI)

Apple is strengthening its local presence in India

Acknowledging that Apple is "underpenetrated" in India, CEO Tim Cook has said the US tech giant is strengthening its local presence in the country and is optimistic about its future given the fast-growing economy and improving 4G network infrastructure in the country. "We set a new March quarter record for India, where revenue grew by strong double digits. We continue to strengthen our local presence across the entire ecosystem, and we're very optimistic about our future in this remarkable country with its very large, young, and tech-savvy population, fast-growing economy, and improving 4G network infrastructure," Cook said in the second quarter results earnings call yesterday. Cook was asked that the California-based company is underpenetrated in India and whether the company will need to work with the country's government to have Apple-owned stores or production given the great opportunity in the country. "We think it's a great opportunity too, and so we're bringing all the things that we brought to bear in other markets that we've eventually done well in, and that's from channel to stores to our ecosystem and so forth,” Cook said. Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller was in India opening a developer centre last quarter. "And so there are a ton of things going on there (India). And we agree that we are underpenetrated there. Our growth rates are good, really good by most people's expectations, maybe not mine as much,” Cook said. He said the iPhone maker is putting a "lot of energy" in India, just like Apple has in other geographies that eventually wound up producing more. "So I'm very excited about it,” he said. Cook emphasised that the 4G network investment began rolling in in a significant way toward the last quarter of last year in India, which is the third largest smartphone market in the world today behind China and the US. "But they are moving fast. They're moving at a speed that I have not seen in any other country in the world once they were started, and it is truly impressive,” he said. Apple has been "investing quite a bit" in India and has a "ton of energy" going into the country on a number of fronts. Cook sounded a bullish tone for the future of Apple in India as the 4G network infrastructure grows in the country. "And so we believe, particularly now that the 4G infrastructure is going in the country and is continuing to be expanded, that there is a huge opportunity for Apple there. And so that and the demographics of the country is why we're putting so much energy there," he said. Apple’s senior vice president and chief financial officer Luca Maestri said the company achieved double-digit growth in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Russia and Mexico. Apple’s growth rates were even higher, over 20 per cent in many other markets, including Brazil, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, India, Korea and Thailand,?Maestri?said. Apple posted revenue of $52.9 billion for its fiscal 2017 second quarter ended April 1, 2017, up from $50.6 billion in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 65 per cent of the quarter’s revenue. It reported net income of $11 billion for the second quarter as compared to $10 billion a year ago. The company said that the number of iPhones sold globally fell 1 per cent in the first calendar quarter, compared with the same period a year ago. It sold 50.76 million iPhones in its fiscal second quarter ended April 1, down from 51.19 million a year earlier. (PTI)

?Underpenetrated' in India, but optimistic about future: Apple

President Donald Trump announced that he has signed an executive order creating a new technology council to &quot;transform and modernise&quot; the US government&#39;s information technology systems.

A White House official confirmed on Monday that about 20 technology chief executives will attend meetings at the White House in early June to talk about improving government information technology.

&quot;Americans deserve better digital services from their Government. To effectuate this policy, the federal government must transform and modernize its information technology and how it uses and delivers digital services,&quot; Trump&#39;s executive order dated April 28 said.

Trump has held a number of meetings with top tech chief executives since becoming president, including Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, IBM, Microsoft, and Tesla.

In March, Trump signed a separate order to overhaul the federal government. Trump tapped Jared Kushner in March to lead a White House Office of American Innovation to leverage business ideas and potentially privatise some government functions as the White House pushes to shrink government, cut federal employees and eliminate regulations.

Officially called the American Technology Council, Chris Liddell will be its director. He is the White House director of strategic initiatives, and former Microsoft and General Motors chief financial officer.

A 2016 US Government Accountability Office report publicly estimated the US government spends more than $80 billion in IT annually, but said spending has fallen by $7.3 billion since 2010. In 2015, there were at least 7,000 separate IT investments by the US government, the report said.

The $80 billion figure does not include Defense Department classified IT systems; and 58 independent executive branch agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the report said.

The GAO report said US government IT investments &quot;are becoming increasingly obsolete: many use outdated software languages and hardware parts that are unsupported.&quot;

The report found some agencies are using systems that have components that are at least 50 years old. &quot;The Department of Defense uses 8-inch floppy disks in a legacy system that coordinates the operational functions of the nation&rsquo;s nuclear forces,&quot; the report said.

The report said the Defense Department plans to update the system by the end of September.

The Treasury Department&#39;s business master file of tax data pertaining to individual business income taxpayers dates back to the 1950s and using an antiquated computer language &quot;and operates on an IBM mainframe.&quot;

The council is chaired by Trump and includes the defense secretary, homeland security secretary, budget director and director of national intelligence.

(Reuters)

About 20 technology chief executives will attend meetings at the White House in early June to talk about improving government information technology

President Donald Trump announced that he has signed an executive order creating a new technology council to "transform and modernise" the US government's information technology systems. A White House official confirmed on Monday that about 20 technology chief executives will attend meetings at the White House in early June to talk about improving government information technology. "Americans deserve better digital services from their Government. To effectuate this policy, the federal government must transform and modernize its information technology and how it uses and delivers digital services," Trump's executive order dated April 28 said. Trump has held a number of meetings with top tech chief executives since becoming president, including Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, IBM, Microsoft, and Tesla. In March, Trump signed a separate order to overhaul the federal government. Trump tapped Jared Kushner in March to lead a White House Office of American Innovation to leverage business ideas and potentially privatise some government functions as the White House pushes to shrink government, cut federal employees and eliminate regulations. Officially called the American Technology Council, Chris Liddell will be its director. He is the White House director of strategic initiatives, and former Microsoft and General Motors chief financial officer. A 2016 US Government Accountability Office report publicly estimated the US government spends more than $80 billion in IT annually, but said spending has fallen by $7.3 billion since 2010. In 2015, there were at least 7,000 separate IT investments by the US government, the report said. The $80 billion figure does not include Defense Department classified IT systems; and 58 independent executive branch agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the report said. The GAO report said US government IT investments "are becoming increasingly obsolete: many use outdated software languages and hardware parts that are unsupported." The report found some agencies are using systems that have components that are at least 50 years old. "The Department of Defense uses 8-inch floppy disks in a legacy system that coordinates the operational functions of the nation’s nuclear forces," the report said. The report said the Defense Department plans to update the system by the end of September. The Treasury Department's business master file of tax data pertaining to individual business income taxpayers dates back to the 1950s and using an antiquated computer language "and operates on an IBM mainframe." The council is chaired by Trump and includes the defense secretary, homeland security secretary, budget director and director of national intelligence. (Reuters)

Trump creating new tech group to ?transform and modernise? US govt

Samsung and Apple maintained their leadership in the smartphone market in early 2017 while China-based Huawei&#39;s strong growth cemented its number three position, a market tracker said Thursday.

Research firm IDC said overall smartphone shipments grew 4.3 per cent in the first quarter, slightly better than its prior forecast, to 347 million units.

&quot;The first quarter smartphone results further prove that the smartphone industry is not dead and that growth still exists,&quot; said IDC analyst Ryan Reith.

&quot;There is no question that 2016 was a pivotal year for the industry as growth dipped to low single digits for the first time. However, we believe the industry will show some rebound in 2017, and the strong first quarter results certainly support this argument.&quot;

Reith said the 2017 market will feel the impact of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship handset, and a widely expected announcement from Apple for its new iPhone later this year.

According to the survey, Samsung led the market in the first quarter with a 22.8 per cent share to 14.9 per cent for Apple, with little growth for the top two vendors.

But Huawei&#39;s sales jumped 21.7 per cent to give it a 9.8 per cent share, and fellow Chinese makers Oppo and Vivo, the number four and five vendors, respectively, also boosted their sales.

IDC said the bulk of smartphone growth is likely to come from low-cost handset makers.

&quot;Although we have seen an abundance of premium redesigned flagships that just entered the market, moving forward, we still expect most of the growth to come from more affordable models in a variety of markets,&quot; said IDC&#39;s Anthony Scarsella.

&quot;Despite all the popularity and media hype around premium devices, we continue to witness a shift in many companies&#39; portfolios geared towards affordable devices with premium-type styling compared to flagship models.&quot;

He added that makers &quot;have started to implement a single premium design language that ultimately blurs the lines between the high-end and the low-end, allowing the average consumer to jump on the brand without a hefty upfront investment.&quot;

The report is based on preliminary quarterly estimates, with Apple due to report sales figures next week.

(WION)

The overall smartphone shipments grew 4.3 per cent in the first quarter

Samsung and Apple maintained their leadership in the smartphone market in early 2017 while China-based Huawei's strong growth cemented its number three position, a market tracker said Thursday. Research firm IDC said overall smartphone shipments grew 4.3 per cent in the first quarter, slightly better than its prior forecast, to 347 million units. "The first quarter smartphone results further prove that the smartphone industry is not dead and that growth still exists," said IDC analyst Ryan Reith. "There is no question that 2016 was a pivotal year for the industry as growth dipped to low single digits for the first time. However, we believe the industry will show some rebound in 2017, and the strong first quarter results certainly support this argument." Reith said the 2017 market will feel the impact of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship handset, and a widely expected announcement from Apple for its new iPhone later this year. According to the survey, Samsung led the market in the first quarter with a 22.8 per cent share to 14.9 per cent for Apple, with little growth for the top two vendors. But Huawei's sales jumped 21.7 per cent to give it a 9.8 per cent share, and fellow Chinese makers Oppo and Vivo, the number four and five vendors, respectively, also boosted their sales. IDC said the bulk of smartphone growth is likely to come from low-cost handset makers. "Although we have seen an abundance of premium redesigned flagships that just entered the market, moving forward, we still expect most of the growth to come from more affordable models in a variety of markets," said IDC's Anthony Scarsella. "Despite all the popularity and media hype around premium devices, we continue to witness a shift in many companies' portfolios geared towards affordable devices with premium-type styling compared to flagship models." He added that makers "have started to implement a single premium design language that ultimately blurs the lines between the high-end and the low-end, allowing the average consumer to jump on the brand without a hefty upfront investment." The report is based on preliminary quarterly estimates, with Apple due to report sales figures next week. (WION)

Samsung, Apple keep top spots in smartphone market

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature for iOS that lets users ask Siri to read out messages for them. Users can get their messages read by simply saying: &quot;Hey Siri, read new WhatsApp messages.&quot;

The new WhatsApp feature is expected to make life a little easier for people with visual impairments. Also, it is seen as a significant contribution towards vehicle safety by keeping eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

&ldquo;Users can activate the feature in WhatsApp&rsquo;s settings menu, and request that Siri read the latest message with the usual &ldquo;Hey Siri&rdquo; command. Replying by voice is possible, too, since WhatsApp added the option last September,&rdquo; report The Verge.

It is available to users running iOS 10.3 on their devices.

This feature is seen as a result of Apple opening up Siri&rsquo;s software to third-party developers at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2016.

The updated version of WhatsApp for iOS has also added support for the Persian language.

(WION)

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature for iOS that lets users ask Siri to read out messages for them. Users can get their messages read by simply saying: "Hey Siri, read new WhatsApp messages." The new WhatsApp feature is expected to make life a little easier for people with visual impairments. Also, it is seen as a significant contribution towards vehicle safety by keeping eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. “Users can activate the feature in WhatsApp’s settings menu, and request that Siri read the latest message with the usual “Hey Siri” command. Replying by voice is possible, too, since WhatsApp added the option last September,” report The Verge. It is available to users running iOS 10.3 on their devices. This feature is seen as a result of Apple opening up Siri’s software to third-party developers at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2016. The updated version of WhatsApp for iOS has also added support for the Persian language. (WION)

iPhone users can now ask Siri to read out WhatsApp messages for them

Apple has delayed the release of its first original video series, an adaptation of comedian James Corden&#39;s popular &quot;Carpool Karaoke&quot; segment, the company said.

At the Code Media conference in February, Apple said the show would debut in April and be available only to Apple Music subscribers. Apple&#39;s senior vice president of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, showed a trailer for the series featuring celebrities such as Will Smith, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Alicia Keys.

A premiere party for &quot;Carpool Karaoke&quot; scheduled for March in Los Angeles was postponed without explanation days before it was to take place. This week, the company again postponed its launch party, which had been rescheduled for Monday.

Apple, a company known for its precisely coordinated product launches, declined to explain the delays, but said in a statement that &quot;Carpool Karaoke: The Series will premiere on Apple Music later this year.&quot;

The series is an adaptation of a segment than runs during CBS&#39; &quot;The Late Late Show with James Corden&quot; and sees him driving with a celebrity and singing a medley of songs.

A representative for CBS Television Studios said in an email on Monday: &quot;We&#39;re excited about our &#39;Carpool Karaoke&#39; for Apple Music, and look forward to everyone seeing it later this year.&quot;

In January, Corden told reporters at a Television Critics Association panel that he was &quot;incredibly proud&quot; that it would be Apple Music&#39;s first show.

Launched in mid-2015, Apple Music has struggled to gain traction. The company said that the service, which sells for $9.99 a month and is heavily promoted to iPhone users, had 20 million subscribers at the end of 2016.

Rival streaming platform Spotify, which offers both a free version and a $9.99 monthly subscription, said in March it had 50 million subscribers.

Apple Music has primarily offered streaming music to its subscribers, but hoped additional exclusive video content would lure new customers.

Apple has said that each of the 16 half-hour episodes it is planning of &quot;Carpool Karaoke&quot; would pair two celebrities spending the day driving around together. Apple Music has also announced plans for a reality show, &quot;Planet of the Apps,&quot; which Cue said was due this spring.

(Reuters)

The series is an adaptation of a segment than runs during CBS' 'The Late Late Show with James Corden' and sees him driving with a celebrity and singing a medley of songs

Apple has delayed the release of its first original video series, an adaptation of comedian James Corden's popular "Carpool Karaoke" segment, the company said. At the Code Media conference in February, Apple said the show would debut in April and be available only to Apple Music subscribers. Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, showed a trailer for the series featuring celebrities such as Will Smith, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Alicia Keys. A premiere party for "Carpool Karaoke" scheduled for March in Los Angeles was postponed without explanation days before it was to take place. This week, the company again postponed its launch party, which had been rescheduled for Monday. Apple, a company known for its precisely coordinated product launches, declined to explain the delays, but said in a statement that "Carpool Karaoke: The Series will premiere on Apple Music later this year." The series is an adaptation of a segment than runs during CBS' "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and sees him driving with a celebrity and singing a medley of songs. A representative for CBS Television Studios said in an email on Monday: "We're excited about our 'Carpool Karaoke' for Apple Music, and look forward to everyone seeing it later this year." In January, Corden told reporters at a Television Critics Association panel that he was "incredibly proud" that it would be Apple Music's first show. Launched in mid-2015, Apple Music has struggled to gain traction. The company said that the service, which sells for $9.99 a month and is heavily promoted to iPhone users, had 20 million subscribers at the end of 2016. Rival streaming platform Spotify, which offers both a free version and a $9.99 monthly subscription, said in March it had 50 million subscribers. Apple Music has primarily offered streaming music to its subscribers, but hoped additional exclusive video content would lure new customers. Apple has said that each of the 16 half-hour episodes it is planning of "Carpool Karaoke" would pair two celebrities spending the day driving around together. Apple Music has also announced plans for a reality show, "Planet of the Apps," which Cue said was due this spring. (Reuters)

Apple delays release of first original series 'Carpool Karaoke'

Apple is considering teaming up with its supplier Foxconn to bid for Toshiba&rsquo;s semiconductor business, public broadcaster NHK said on Friday - the latest twist in the sale of the world&#39;s second-biggest flash memory chipmaker.

The US technology giant is considering investing at least several billion dollars to take a stake of more than 20 per cent in a plan that would have Toshiba maintain a partial holding to keep the business under US and Japanese control, NHK reported, citing unidentified sources.

The proposal is aimed at allaying the Japanese government&#39;s concerns over any transfer of sensitive technology to investors it deems a risk to national security, it said.

Foxconn, which participated in the first round of the auction, has been considered such a risk due to its deep ties with China. The bulk of Apple&#39;s iPhones are manufactured at Foxconn&#39;s extensive manufacturing base there.

NHK said Apple wants the Taiwan firm to own a stake of around 30 per cent of Toshiba&#39;s chip business.

Apple was not immediately available to comment. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, declined to comment.

An investment by Apple would be its first direct stake in a major global memory chipmaker as it seeks to secure a stable supply of key components. Samsung is the biggest maker of flash memory chips, followed by Toshiba, SK Hynix, and US-based Micron Technology.

The report comes as Western Digital, Toshiba&#39;s partner and one of the bidders of its chip business, warned this week that the Japanese firm is violating a joint venture contract in plans to sell to its chip unit, and urged that it be given exclusive negotiating rights.

The auction of the prized asset is essential to Toshiba&#39;s plans to cover multi-billion writedowns at US nuclear unit Westinghouse that have plunged it into crisis.

Toshiba has narrowed down the field of bidders for its chip unit to four suitors, sources have also said.

They are US chipmaker Broadcom Ltd, which has partnered with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP; South Korea&#39;s SK Hynix; Foxconn, the world&#39;s largest contract electronics maker, and Western Digital.

Broadcom has put in the highest first-round offer of 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion), while Foxconn offered 2 trillion yen, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters this week.

Apple was not part of any of those four bids, according to the person. It is unclear whether it participated in the first round of the auction that sources have said drew around 10 offers.

Shares in Toshiba fell 5 per cent on Friday, hit by a Bloomberg report that the chip business sale had been temporarily put on hold to address the concerns raised by Western Digital, which Toshiba denied.

&quot;It is not true Toshiba has put the chip sale process on hold,&quot; a Toshiba spokesman said.

(Reuters)

An investment by Apple would be its first direct stake in a major global chipmaker as it seeks to secure a stable supply of key components

Apple is considering teaming up with its supplier Foxconn to bid for Toshiba’s semiconductor business, public broadcaster NHK said on Friday - the latest twist in the sale of the world's second-biggest flash memory chipmaker. The US technology giant is considering investing at least several billion dollars to take a stake of more than 20 per cent in a plan that would have Toshiba maintain a partial holding to keep the business under US and Japanese control, NHK reported, citing unidentified sources. The proposal is aimed at allaying the Japanese government's concerns over any transfer of sensitive technology to investors it deems a risk to national security, it said. Foxconn, which participated in the first round of the auction, has been considered such a risk due to its deep ties with China. The bulk of Apple's iPhones are manufactured at Foxconn's extensive manufacturing base there. NHK said Apple wants the Taiwan firm to own a stake of around 30 per cent of Toshiba's chip business. Apple was not immediately available to comment. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, declined to comment. An investment by Apple would be its first direct stake in a major global memory chipmaker as it seeks to secure a stable supply of key components. Samsung is the biggest maker of flash memory chips, followed by Toshiba, SK Hynix, and US-based Micron Technology. The report comes as Western Digital, Toshiba's partner and one of the bidders of its chip business, warned this week that the Japanese firm is violating a joint venture contract in plans to sell to its chip unit, and urged that it be given exclusive negotiating rights. The auction of the prized asset is essential to Toshiba's plans to cover multi-billion writedowns at US nuclear unit Westinghouse that have plunged it into crisis. Toshiba has narrowed down the field of bidders for its chip unit to four suitors, sources have also said. They are US chipmaker Broadcom Ltd, which has partnered with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP; South Korea's SK Hynix; Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, and Western Digital. Broadcom has put in the highest first-round offer of 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion), while Foxconn offered 2 trillion yen, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters this week. Apple was not part of any of those four bids, according to the person. It is unclear whether it participated in the first round of the auction that sources have said drew around 10 offers. Shares in Toshiba fell 5 per cent on Friday, hit by a Bloomberg report that the chip business sale had been temporarily put on hold to address the concerns raised by Western Digital, which Toshiba denied. "It is not true Toshiba has put the chip sale process on hold," a Toshiba spokesman said. (Reuters)

Apple considers bidding for big stake in Toshiba's chip business: Report

Facebook has added a feature to its Messenger app that allows users to share their locations continuously for up to an hour, ramping up competition with tools offered by Apple and Alphabet&#39;s Google Maps.

The company has found that one of the most-used phrases on Messenger as people talk to friends and family is &quot;How far away are you?&quot; or some variation, Stan Chudnovsky, head of product for Messenger, said in an interview.

&quot;It happens to be what people are saying, what they&#39;re interested in the most,&quot; he said.

Sharing location information is optional, but it can also be live, so that once a user shares the information with a friend, the friend can watch the user&#39;s movement for up to 60 minutes.

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Messenger was once part of the core Facebook smartphone app, but the company broke it out as a separate app in 2014 and has since invested in frequent changes to build a service distinct from the massive social network.

Google Maps said last week that it was adding a similar live feature, an attempt to boost engagement on a product of increasing strategic importance to that company.

The close proximity of the announcements tells Facebook &quot;that we&#39;re working on the right things,&quot; Chudnovsky said. The Messages app on Apple&#39;s iPhone has such a feature, too.

Facebook has been testing its change in Mexico, he said. It was ready as long ago as October, he added, but the company worked on it for five more months to minimize the impact on the battery life of phones.

Facebook sees the feature being used for convenience to coordinate with friends, for safety-related purposes or for other uses, Chudnovsky said. &quot;There are all sorts of products that you can imagine you could build on top of that,&quot; he said.

The update is being made available globally, the company said.

(Reuters)

Users will be able to see where you are on a map for the next 60 minutes

Facebook has added a feature to its Messenger app that allows users to share their locations continuously for up to an hour, ramping up competition with tools offered by Apple and Alphabet's Google Maps. The company has found that one of the most-used phrases on Messenger as people talk to friends and family is "How far away are you?" or some variation, Stan Chudnovsky, head of product for Messenger, said in an interview. "It happens to be what people are saying, what they're interested in the most," he said. Sharing location information is optional, but it can also be live, so that once a user shares the information with a friend, the friend can watch the user's movement for up to 60 minutes. Messenger was once part of the core Facebook smartphone app, but the company broke it out as a separate app in 2014 and has since invested in frequent changes to build a service distinct from the massive social network. Google Maps said last week that it was adding a similar live feature, an attempt to boost engagement on a product of increasing strategic importance to that company. The close proximity of the announcements tells Facebook "that we're working on the right things," Chudnovsky said. The Messages app on Apple's iPhone has such a feature, too. Facebook has been testing its change in Mexico, he said. It was ready as long ago as October, he added, but the company worked on it for five more months to minimize the impact on the battery life of phones. Facebook sees the feature being used for convenience to coordinate with friends, for safety-related purposes or for other uses, Chudnovsky said. "There are all sorts of products that you can imagine you could build on top of that," he said. The update is being made available globally, the company said. (Reuters)

Facebook adds real-time location sharing to Messenger

Samsung announced that a voice-powered digital assistant named &quot;Bixby&quot; will debut with a flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, which is set to be unveiled by the South Korean consumer electronics giant on March 29.

Bixby enters a crowded field of digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence that includes Apple&#39;s Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon&#39;s Alexa.

Samsung said Bixby will focus on letting people control mobile apps with spoken directives. &quot;Bixby will be our first step on a journey to completely open up new ways of interacting with your phone,&quot; Samsung Electronics head of research and development Injong Rhee said in a release.

&quot;Bixby will be a new intelligent interface on our devices.&quot;

A Galaxy S8 smartphone expected to be unveiled next week will have a set of pre-installed applications that will work with Bixby, according to Samsung.

Samsung late last year bought Viv, an artificial intelligence startup with co-founders who were part of the team that built virtual assistant Siri, which Apple bought some seven years ago.

Bixby will differ from digital aides already on the market in ways that include controlling nearly all tasks in applications instead of limited sets, and being flexible when it comes to understanding what users are saying, according to Samsung.

&quot;We do have a bold vision of revolutionizing the human-to-machine interface, but that vision won&#39;t be realized overnight,&quot; Rhee said.

Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft are all vying to develop the most sophisticated connected assistant - working to give software the ability to understand what people say and even anticipate desires or needs.

Amazon virtual assistant Alexa was a star at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget gala early this year in Las Vegas but faces fierce competition.

Chinese giant Baidu also used the show to showcase virtual assistant &quot;Little Fish&quot; that it was preparing for a debut in China. Microsoft recently bought Maluuba, a Montreal startup focused on making machines able to think the way people do.

(AFP)

&nbsp;

Bixby will compete with Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon's Alexa

Samsung announced that a voice-powered digital assistant named "Bixby" will debut with a flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, which is set to be unveiled by the South Korean consumer electronics giant on March 29. Bixby enters a crowded field of digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence that includes Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon's Alexa. Samsung said Bixby will focus on letting people control mobile apps with spoken directives. "Bixby will be our first step on a journey to completely open up new ways of interacting with your phone," Samsung Electronics head of research and development Injong Rhee said in a release. "Bixby will be a new intelligent interface on our devices." A Galaxy S8 smartphone expected to be unveiled next week will have a set of pre-installed applications that will work with Bixby, according to Samsung. Samsung late last year bought Viv, an artificial intelligence startup with co-founders who were part of the team that built virtual assistant Siri, which Apple bought some seven years ago. Bixby will differ from digital aides already on the market in ways that include controlling nearly all tasks in applications instead of limited sets, and being flexible when it comes to understanding what users are saying, according to Samsung. "We do have a bold vision of revolutionizing the human-to-machine interface, but that vision won't be realized overnight," Rhee said. Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft are all vying to develop the most sophisticated connected assistant - working to give software the ability to understand what people say and even anticipate desires or needs. Amazon virtual assistant Alexa was a star at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget gala early this year in Las Vegas but faces fierce competition. Chinese giant Baidu also used the show to showcase virtual assistant "Little Fish" that it was preparing for a debut in China. Microsoft recently bought Maluuba, a Montreal startup focused on making machines able to think the way people do. (AFP)

Samsung announces new voice-assistant Bixby, to debut with Galaxy S8

Apple unveiled an updated version of its iPad tablet with a brighter screen. The new iPad will be available to order from March 24 (Friday) and with a $329 starting price that is the lowest ever for a full-sized tablet from Apple.

The new iPad model starts at 32 GB of storage and replaces the iPad Air 2. It will be slightly less expensive than the smaller iPad Mini 4, which starts at $399 for a 128 GB model.

Apple also said its smaller iPhone SE model will be available in 32 and 128 gigabyte (GB) versions, replacing the 16 GB and 64 GB models.

The hardware updates are incremental improvements that were announced without a major media event. Apple is widely expected to unveil an update to its flagship iPhone this fall that might have new features such as wireless charging, 3D facial recognition and a curved display.

Apple also announced a new app for creating videos and sharing them with friends on its iOS devices. The new feature, along with extra iMessage features released in recent years, pushes Apple closer to competing with the features in social networking apps like Snap Inc.

The new app, called Clips, lets users add captions and speech bubbles to videos and share them on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or Apple&#39;s own messaging app, where videos can be sent to contacts with a single tap. But unlike Snap or other messaging apps, users can add captions to videos using their voice.

(Reuters)

&nbsp;

Apple unveiled an updated version of its iPad tablet with a brighter screen. The new iPad will be available to order from March 24 (Friday) and with a $329 starting price that is the lowest ever for a full-sized tablet from Apple. The new iPad model starts at 32 GB of storage and replaces the iPad Air 2. It will be slightly less expensive than the smaller iPad Mini 4, which starts at $399 for a 128 GB model. Apple also said its smaller iPhone SE model will be available in 32 and 128 gigabyte (GB) versions, replacing the 16 GB and 64 GB models. The hardware updates are incremental improvements that were announced without a major media event. Apple is widely expected to unveil an update to its flagship iPhone this fall that might have new features such as wireless charging, 3D facial recognition and a curved display. Apple also announced a new app for creating videos and sharing them with friends on its iOS devices. The new feature, along with extra iMessage features released in recent years, pushes Apple closer to competing with the features in social networking apps like Snap Inc. The new app, called Clips, lets users add captions and speech bubbles to videos and share them on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or Apple's own messaging app, where videos can be sent to contacts with a single tap. But unlike Snap or other messaging apps, users can add captions to videos using their voice. (Reuters)

Apple unveils the cheapest-ever iPad

Apple has announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in a vibrant red aluminum finish. The red-colored variant has been introduced to acknowledge 10 years of partnership between Apple and (RED), an organization to help fight AIDS.

This special edition iPhone will be available to order online worldwide and in stores from March 24. &quot;This gives customers an unprecedented way to contribute to the Global Fund and bring the world a step closer to an AIDS-free generation,&quot; says Apple.

This special edition iPhone will be available in 128GB and 256GB models starting at $749.

&quot;Since we began working with (RED) 10 years ago, our customers have made a significant impact in fighting the spread of AIDS through the purchase of our products, from the original iPod nano (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition all the way to today&rsquo;s lineup of Beats products and accessories for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch,&rdquo; says Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Both special edition models will be shipped to customers by the end of March in the US and more than 40 countries and regions, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and United Arab Emirates. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Turkey. Other countries will get this edition in April.

(WION)

Both the new iPhone models will go on sale from March 24

Apple has announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in a vibrant red aluminum finish. The red-colored variant has been introduced to acknowledge 10 years of partnership between Apple and (RED), an organization to help fight AIDS. This special edition iPhone will be available to order online worldwide and in stores from March 24. "This gives customers an unprecedented way to contribute to the Global Fund and bring the world a step closer to an AIDS-free generation," says Apple. This special edition iPhone will be available in 128GB and 256GB models starting at $749. "Since we began working with (RED) 10 years ago, our customers have made a significant impact in fighting the spread of AIDS through the purchase of our products, from the original iPod nano (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition all the way to today’s lineup of Beats products and accessories for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch,” says Apple CEO Tim Cook. Both special edition models will be shipped to customers by the end of March in the US and more than 40 countries and regions, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and United Arab Emirates. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Turkey. Other countries will get this edition in April. (WION)

Apple introduces iPhone 7, iPhone Plus in red colour

Tech companies must rapidly step up information-sharing to protect users from prying eyes, a security software executive said on Wednesday after WikiLeaks released a trove of data purporting to show that the CIA can hack all manner of devices.

Dozens of firms rushed to contain the damage from possible security weak points following the anti-secrecy organisation&#39;s revelations, although some said they needed far more information on what the US intelligence agency was up to before they could thwart suspected but previously hidden attacks.

Sinan Eren, vice president of Czech anti-virus software maker Avast, called on mobile software makers Apple and Google to supply security firms with privileged access to their devices to offer immediate fixes to known bugs.

&quot;We can prevent attacks in real time if we are given the hooks into the mobile operating system,&quot; Eren said in a phone interview from Silicon Valley, where he is located.

&quot;If we can drive a paradigm shift where mobile platforms don&#39;t shut off access, we&#39;ll be better able to detect when hackers are hiding in a mobile (phone)&quot;, he said.

Avast, which counts more than 400 million users of its anti-virus software worldwide, was named in the WikiLeaks documents as one of the security vendors targeted by the CIA in a leaked page labelled &quot;secret&quot; but lacking further details.

The leaks - which WikiLeaks described as the biggest in the Central Intelligence Agency&#39;s history - had enough technical details for security experts and product vendors to recognise that widespread compromises exist. However, they provided few specifics needed to offer quick fixes.

Reuters could not immediately verify the validity of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate. The 8,761 leaked documents list a wealth of security attacks on Apple and Google Android smartphones carried by billions of consumers, as well as top computer operating systems - Windows, Linux and Apple Mac - and six of the world&#39;s main web browsers.

Apple said in a statement that nearly 80 per cent of iPhone users run its current iOS software with the latest security patches. &quot;Many of the issues leaked were already patched in the latest iOS; we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities,&quot; Apple said on Tuesday. The statement made no reference to attacks on its computer software.

Google declined to comment, while a Microsoft spokeswoman said: &quot;We&#39;re aware of the report and are looking into it.&quot; 
Widely-used routers from Silicon Valley-based Cisco were listed as targets, as were those supplied by Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE and Taiwanese supplier Zyxel for their devices used in China and Pakistan.

Cisco security team members said in a blog post that because WikiLeaks has not released any of the actual hacking exploits, &quot;the scope of action that can be taken by Cisco is limited&quot;.

Omar Santos, a principal engineer in Cisco&#39;s security response unit, said malware appears to be targeting whole families of Cisco devices but is designed to remain hidden so as to steal data unnoticed. He said Cisco assumes WikiLeaks will eventually disclose the hacks, allowing it to fix them.

Huawei declined to comment. ZTE and Zyxel were not immediately available to respond.

Stay of execution

Messaging apps protected by full software encryption also appear to be vulnerable to hacking of the smartphones themselves, communications app provider Telegram said in a blog post. But one positive outcome may be that device and software makers will be able to close up these holes, it said.

&quot;This is not an app issue. It is relevant on the level of devices and operating systems like iOS and Android,&quot; Telegram stated, adding: &quot;The good news is that for the moment all of this is irrelevant for the majority of Telegram users. If the CIA is not on your back, you shouldn&#39;t start worrying just yet.&quot;

The WikiLeaks collection contains a mix of copious data and empty files marked &quot;secret&quot; that promised more details to come on attacks against more than 15 security software firms.

US cyber security expert Robert Graham said WikiLeaks provided enough detail to recognise some known vulnerabilities.

&quot;One anti-virus researcher has told me that a virus they once suspected came from the Russians or Chinese can now be attributed to the CIA, as it matches the description perfectly to something in the leak,&quot; Graham said in a blog post.

Some security experts said the CIA&#39;s possible use of tools from other spy agencies raised the risk of false attribution for targeted cyber attacks by the US intelligence agency.&nbsp; He said CIA cyber spying efforts could be set back years.

The CIA and White House declined to comment. &quot;We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents,&quot; CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement.

WikiLeaks said it aims to provoke a political and legal debate about the CIA&#39;s cyber arsenal. However, it was holding back, for now, much of the technical documentation that would allow other hackers and cyber criminals to exploit the hacks - while putting vendors on notice to expect further revelations.

The organisation said in a statement it is &quot;avoiding the distribution of &#39;armed&#39; cyber weapons until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA&#39;s program and how such &#39;weapons&#39; should be analysed, disarmed and published&quot;.

It described sophisticated tools for targeting the devices of individual users, in contrast to the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of mass data collection on millions of web and phone users worldwide.

(Reuters)

Dozens of tech firms rush to contain the damage from possible security weak points following the anti-secrecy organisation's revelations

Tech companies must rapidly step up information-sharing to protect users from prying eyes, a security software executive said on Wednesday after WikiLeaks released a trove of data purporting to show that the CIA can hack all manner of devices. Dozens of firms rushed to contain the damage from possible security weak points following the anti-secrecy organisation's revelations, although some said they needed far more information on what the US intelligence agency was up to before they could thwart suspected but previously hidden attacks. Sinan Eren, vice president of Czech anti-virus software maker Avast, called on mobile software makers Apple and Google to supply security firms with privileged access to their devices to offer immediate fixes to known bugs. "We can prevent attacks in real time if we are given the hooks into the mobile operating system," Eren said in a phone interview from Silicon Valley, where he is located. "If we can drive a paradigm shift where mobile platforms don't shut off access, we'll be better able to detect when hackers are hiding in a mobile (phone)", he said. Avast, which counts more than 400 million users of its anti-virus software worldwide, was named in the WikiLeaks documents as one of the security vendors targeted by the CIA in a leaked page labelled "secret" but lacking further details. The leaks - which WikiLeaks described as the biggest in the Central Intelligence Agency's history - had enough technical details for security experts and product vendors to recognise that widespread compromises exist. However, they provided few specifics needed to offer quick fixes. Reuters could not immediately verify the validity of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate. The 8,761 leaked documents list a wealth of security attacks on Apple and Google Android smartphones carried by billions of consumers, as well as top computer operating systems - Windows, Linux and Apple Mac - and six of the world's main web browsers. Apple said in a statement that nearly 80 per cent of iPhone users run its current iOS software with the latest security patches. "Many of the issues leaked were already patched in the latest iOS; we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities," Apple said on Tuesday. The statement made no reference to attacks on its computer software. Google declined to comment, while a Microsoft spokeswoman said: "We're aware of the report and are looking into it." Widely-used routers from Silicon Valley-based Cisco were listed as targets, as were those supplied by Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE and Taiwanese supplier Zyxel for their devices used in China and Pakistan. Cisco security team members said in a blog post that because WikiLeaks has not released any of the actual hacking exploits, "the scope of action that can be taken by Cisco is limited". Omar Santos, a principal engineer in Cisco's security response unit, said malware appears to be targeting whole families of Cisco devices but is designed to remain hidden so as to steal data unnoticed. He said Cisco assumes WikiLeaks will eventually disclose the hacks, allowing it to fix them. Huawei declined to comment. ZTE and Zyxel were not immediately available to respond. Stay of execution Messaging apps protected by full software encryption also appear to be vulnerable to hacking of the smartphones themselves, communications app provider Telegram said in a blog post. But one positive outcome may be that device and software makers will be able to close up these holes, it said. "This is not an app issue. It is relevant on the level of devices and operating systems like iOS and Android," Telegram stated, adding: "The good news is that for the moment all of this is irrelevant for the majority of Telegram users. If the CIA is not on your back, you shouldn't start worrying just yet." The WikiLeaks collection contains a mix of copious data and empty files marked "secret" that promised more details to come on attacks against more than 15 security software firms. US cyber security expert Robert Graham said WikiLeaks provided enough detail to recognise some known vulnerabilities. "One anti-virus researcher has told me that a virus they once suspected came from the Russians or Chinese can now be attributed to the CIA, as it matches the description perfectly to something in the leak," Graham said in a blog post. Some security experts said the CIA's possible use of tools from other spy agencies raised the risk of false attribution for targeted cyber attacks by the US intelligence agency. He said CIA cyber spying efforts could be set back years. The CIA and White House declined to comment. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement. WikiLeaks said it aims to provoke a political and legal debate about the CIA's cyber arsenal. However, it was holding back, for now, much of the technical documentation that would allow other hackers and cyber criminals to exploit the hacks - while putting vendors on notice to expect further revelations. The organisation said in a statement it is "avoiding the distribution of 'armed' cyber weapons until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA's program and how such 'weapons' should be analysed, disarmed and published". It described sophisticated tools for targeting the devices of individual users, in contrast to the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of mass data collection on millions of web and phone users worldwide. (Reuters)

WikiLeaks' CIA hacking revelations: How Apple, Google and other tech firms rush to protect user privacy

With the broad release of Google Assistant last week, the voice-assistant wars are in full swing, with Apple, Amazon.com , Microsoft and now Alphabet&#39;s Google all offering electronic assistants to take your commands.

Siri is the oldest of the bunch, and researchers including Oren Etzioni, chief executive officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle, said Apple has squandered its lead when it comes to understanding speech and answering questions.

But there is at least one thing Siri can do that the other assistants cannot: speak 21 languages localised for 36 countries, a very important capability in a smartphone market where most sales are outside the United States.

Microsoft Cortana, by contrast, has eight languages tailored for 13 countries. Google&rsquo;s Assistant, which began in its Pixel phone but has moved to other Android devices, speaks four languages. Amazon&#39;s Alexa features only English and German. Siri will even soon start to learn Shanghainese, a special dialect of Wu Chinese spoken only around Shanghai.

The language issue shows the type of hurdle that digital assistants still need to clear if they are to become ubiquitous tools for operating smartphones and other devices.

Speaking languages natively is complicated for any assistant. If someone asks for a football score in Britain, for example, even though the language is English, the assistant must know to say &ldquo;two-nil&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;two-nothing.&rdquo;

At Microsoft, an editorial team of 29 people works to customise Cortana for local markets. In Mexico, for example, a published children&rsquo;s book author writes Cortana&rsquo;s lines to stand out from other Spanish-speaking countries. 
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;They really pride themselves on what&rsquo;s truly Mexican. (Cortana) has a lot of answers that are clever and funny and have to do with what it means to be Mexican,&rdquo; said Jonathan Foster, who heads the team of writers at Microsoft.

Google and Amazon said they plan to bring more languages to their assistants but declined to comment further. At Apple, the company starts working on a new language by bringing in humans to read passages in a range of accents and dialects, which are then transcribed by hand so the computer has an exact representation of the spoken text to learn from, said Alex Acero, head of the speech team at Apple. Apple also captures a range of sounds in a variety of voices. From there, a language model is built that tries to predict words sequences.

Then Apple deploys &ldquo;dictation mode,&rdquo; its text-to-speech translator, in the new language, Acero said. When customers use dictation mode, Apple captures a small percentage of the audio recordings and makes them anonymous. The recordings, complete with background noise and mumbled words, are transcribed by humans, a process that helps cut the speech recognition error rate in half.

After enough data has been gathered and a voice actor has been recorded to play Siri in a new language, Siri is released with answers to what Apple estimates will be the most common questions, Acero said. Once released, Siri learns more about what real-world users ask and is updated every two weeks with more tweaks.

But script-writing does not scale, said Charles Jolley, creator of an intelligent assistant named Ozlo. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t hire enough writers to come up with the system you&rsquo;d need in every language. You have to synthesize the answers,&rdquo; he said. That is years off, he said.

The founders of Viv, a startup founded by Siri&#39;s original creators that Samsung acquired last year, is working on just that. &quot;Viv was built to specifically address the scaling issue for intelligent assistants,&quot; said Dag Kittlaus, the CEO and co-founder of Viv. &quot;The only way to leapfrog today&#39;s limited functionality versions is to open the system up and let the world teach them.&quot;

(Reuters)

&nbsp;

Siri can speak 21 languages localised for 36 countries

With the broad release of Google Assistant last week, the voice-assistant wars are in full swing, with Apple, Amazon.com , Microsoft and now Alphabet's Google all offering electronic assistants to take your commands. Siri is the oldest of the bunch, and researchers including Oren Etzioni, chief executive officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle, said Apple has squandered its lead when it comes to understanding speech and answering questions. But there is at least one thing Siri can do that the other assistants cannot: speak 21 languages localised for 36 countries, a very important capability in a smartphone market where most sales are outside the United States. Microsoft Cortana, by contrast, has eight languages tailored for 13 countries. Google’s Assistant, which began in its Pixel phone but has moved to other Android devices, speaks four languages. Amazon's Alexa features only English and German. Siri will even soon start to learn Shanghainese, a special dialect of Wu Chinese spoken only around Shanghai. The language issue shows the type of hurdle that digital assistants still need to clear if they are to become ubiquitous tools for operating smartphones and other devices. Speaking languages natively is complicated for any assistant. If someone asks for a football score in Britain, for example, even though the language is English, the assistant must know to say “two-nil” instead of “two-nothing.” At Microsoft, an editorial team of 29 people works to customise Cortana for local markets. In Mexico, for example, a published children’s book author writes Cortana’s lines to stand out from other Spanish-speaking countries. “They really pride themselves on what’s truly Mexican. (Cortana) has a lot of answers that are clever and funny and have to do with what it means to be Mexican,” said Jonathan Foster, who heads the team of writers at Microsoft. Google and Amazon said they plan to bring more languages to their assistants but declined to comment further. At Apple, the company starts working on a new language by bringing in humans to read passages in a range of accents and dialects, which are then transcribed by hand so the computer has an exact representation of the spoken text to learn from, said Alex Acero, head of the speech team at Apple. Apple also captures a range of sounds in a variety of voices. From there, a language model is built that tries to predict words sequences. Then Apple deploys “dictation mode,” its text-to-speech translator, in the new language, Acero said. When customers use dictation mode, Apple captures a small percentage of the audio recordings and makes them anonymous. The recordings, complete with background noise and mumbled words, are transcribed by humans, a process that helps cut the speech recognition error rate in half. After enough data has been gathered and a voice actor has been recorded to play Siri in a new language, Siri is released with answers to what Apple estimates will be the most common questions, Acero said. Once released, Siri learns more about what real-world users ask and is updated every two weeks with more tweaks. But script-writing does not scale, said Charles Jolley, creator of an intelligent assistant named Ozlo. “You can’t hire enough writers to come up with the system you’d need in every language. You have to synthesize the answers,” he said. That is years off, he said. The founders of Viv, a startup founded by Siri's original creators that Samsung acquired last year, is working on just that. "Viv was built to specifically address the scaling issue for intelligent assistants," said Dag Kittlaus, the CEO and co-founder of Viv. "The only way to leapfrog today's limited functionality versions is to open the system up and let the world teach them." (Reuters)

Apple's Siri learns Shanghainese as voice assistants race to cover languages

Warren&nbsp;Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, told CNBC on Monday that his conglomerate had purchased about 120 million shares of Apple Inc. in 2017 and that U.S. stocks were not in &quot;bubble territory.&quot;

&quot;Apple strikes me as having quite a sticky product and an enormously useful product to people that use it, not that I do,&quot;&nbsp;Buffett&nbsp;said. He said Berkshire&#39;s Apple stake, at 133 million shares, was worth about $17 billion and amounted to Berkshire&#39;s second-biggest holding.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had done a &quot;terrific job,&quot;&nbsp;Buffett&nbsp;said, but added he had not bought shares since the company&#39;s earnings report.

Berkshire revealed in its annual report on Saturday that its massive stake in Apple stock, as of Dec. 31, had risen to 61.2 million shares for a total of $6.75 billion.

Buffett, who told the cable television network that Berkshire had spent about $20 billion on stocks since just before the November 8 US&nbsp;election, also said the US&nbsp;stock market was cheap with interest rates at current levels.

Benchmark 10-year US&nbsp;Treasury notes last yielded 2.333 per cent in morning US&nbsp;trading.

The billionaire investor said it was extremely difficult to attempt to find a floor in stock prices and that he did not know what would happen in the near term in the equity market.

He said US&nbsp;shares could conceivably &quot;go down 20 per cent tomorrow.&quot;

Buffett&nbsp;said Berkshire&#39;s positions in airlines remained unchanged. He said pricing shares of airlines has historically been a &quot;very tough game&quot; and he had never met the chief executives of the four airlines in which Berkshire holds stakes.

Berkshire reported a $9.3 billion airline stake at the end of Dec. 31, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, with investments topping $2.1 billion in each of American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Southwest Airlines Co and United Continental Holdings Inc.

Buffett, who was a vocal supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, said he would judge US&nbsp;President Donald Trump based on how safe the country is in four years. He said he would also judge the Republican president according to how the US&nbsp;economy performs overall and how wide participation in a better economy extends.

Despite his disagreement with some of Trump&#39;s policies,&nbsp;Buffett&nbsp;said the US&nbsp;economy would be better off in four years under any president. He said that US&nbsp;Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made &quot;a lot of sense.&quot;

On Kraft Heinz&#39;s snubbed bid for Unilever,&nbsp;Buffett&nbsp;said it was never intended to be a hostile offer and that there was not a &quot;backup deal.&quot; Berkshire is a key investor in Kraft Heinz.

&quot;Will there be another deal at Kraft Heinz some day? My guess is yes, but who knows when, I mean, there&rsquo;s no backup deal, and again, it would have to be friendly and frankly, the prices in that field make it very, very, very tough to make an intelligent deal.&quot;

Asked about Berkshire&#39;s $86 billion cash pile, he said the conglomerate was &quot;always looking&quot; for acquisitions but that there was &quot;nothing close.&quot;

Buffett&nbsp;said it was enormously important for the US&nbsp;economy to have 30-year government-guaranteed mortgages, but that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not necessary in order to accomplish that.

On 30-year US&nbsp;Treasury bonds,&nbsp;Buffett&nbsp;said: &quot;It absolutely baffles me who buys the 30-year bond&quot; and that doing so was not sensible at current yields. US&nbsp;30-year government bonds last yielded 2.964 per cent.

Buffett&nbsp;reiterated that Americans are better off buying plain-vanilla index funds than committing money to active managers. He added that the hedge fund industry&#39;s standard fee structure of 2 per cent of assets and 20 per cent of investment gains &quot;borders on obscene.&quot;

In an annual letter to shareholders on Saturday,&nbsp;Buffett&nbsp;slammed fee-hungry investment managers: &quot;When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients.&quot;

Buffett&nbsp;praised Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as possibly the best manager he had ever seen and said Berkshire &quot;missed big time&quot; by not purchasing Amazon shares early on.&nbsp;Buffettsaid the US&nbsp;economy was doing &quot;terrific,&quot; even at just 2 per cent growth per year.

(Reuters)

Berkshire's Apple stake is the company's second-biggest holding

Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, told CNBC on Monday that his conglomerate had purchased about 120 million shares of Apple Inc. in 2017 and that U.S. stocks were not in "bubble territory." "Apple strikes me as having quite a sticky product and an enormously useful product to people that use it, not that I do," Buffett said. He said Berkshire's Apple stake, at 133 million shares, was worth about $17 billion and amounted to Berkshire's second-biggest holding. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had done a "terrific job," Buffett said, but added he had not bought shares since the company's earnings report. Berkshire revealed in its annual report on Saturday that its massive stake in Apple stock, as of Dec. 31, had risen to 61.2 million shares for a total of $6.75 billion. Buffett, who told the cable television network that Berkshire had spent about $20 billion on stocks since just before the November 8 US election, also said the US stock market was cheap with interest rates at current levels. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes last yielded 2.333 per cent in morning US trading. The billionaire investor said it was extremely difficult to attempt to find a floor in stock prices and that he did not know what would happen in the near term in the equity market. He said US shares could conceivably "go down 20 per cent tomorrow." Buffett said Berkshire's positions in airlines remained unchanged. He said pricing shares of airlines has historically been a "very tough game" and he had never met the chief executives of the four airlines in which Berkshire holds stakes. Berkshire reported a $9.3 billion airline stake at the end of Dec. 31, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, with investments topping $2.1 billion in each of American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Southwest Airlines Co and United Continental Holdings Inc. Buffett, who was a vocal supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, said he would judge US President Donald Trump based on how safe the country is in four years. He said he would also judge the Republican president according to how the US economy performs overall and how wide participation in a better economy extends. Despite his disagreement with some of Trump's policies, Buffett said the US economy would be better off in four years under any president. He said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made "a lot of sense." On Kraft Heinz's snubbed bid for Unilever, Buffett said it was never intended to be a hostile offer and that there was not a "backup deal." Berkshire is a key investor in Kraft Heinz. "Will there be another deal at Kraft Heinz some day? My guess is yes, but who knows when, I mean, there’s no backup deal, and again, it would have to be friendly and frankly, the prices in that field make it very, very, very tough to make an intelligent deal." Asked about Berkshire's $86 billion cash pile, he said the conglomerate was "always looking" for acquisitions but that there was "nothing close." Buffett said it was enormously important for the US economy to have 30-year government-guaranteed mortgages, but that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not necessary in order to accomplish that. On 30-year US Treasury bonds, Buffett said: "It absolutely baffles me who buys the 30-year bond" and that doing so was not sensible at current yields. US 30-year government bonds last yielded 2.964 per cent. Buffett reiterated that Americans are better off buying plain-vanilla index funds than committing money to active managers. He added that the hedge fund industry's standard fee structure of 2 per cent of assets and 20 per cent of investment gains "borders on obscene." In an annual letter to shareholders on Saturday, Buffett slammed fee-hungry investment managers: "When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients." Buffett praised Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as possibly the best manager he had ever seen and said Berkshire "missed big time" by not purchasing Amazon shares early on. Buffettsaid the US economy was doing "terrific," even at just 2 per cent growth per year. (Reuters)

Berkshire bought 120 million Apple shares, says Buffett

When Apple launches its much-anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone this fall, it will offer an unwitting lesson in how much the smartphone industry it pioneered has matured.

The new iPhone is expected to include new features such as high-resolution displays, wireless charging and 3D sensors. Rather than representing major breakthroughs, however, most of the innovations have been available in competing phones for several years.

Apple&#39;s relatively slow adoption of new features both reflects and reinforces the fact smartphone customers are holding onto their phones longer. Timothy Arcuri, an analyst at Cowen &amp; Co, believes upwards of 40 per cent of iPhones on the market are more than two years old, a historical high.

That is a big reason why investors have driven Apple shares to an all-time high. There is pent-up demand for a new iPhone, even if it does not offer breakthrough technologies.

It is not clear whether Apple deliberately held off on packing some of the new features into the current iPhone 7, which has been criticised for a lack of differentiation from its predecessor. Apple declined to comment on the upcoming product.

Still, the development and roll-out of the anniversary iPhone suggest Apple&rsquo;s product strategy is driven less by technological innovation than by consumer upgrade cycles and Apple&rsquo;s own business and marketing needs.

&quot;When a market gets saturated, the growth is all about refresh,&quot; said Bob O&rsquo;Donnell of Technalysis Research. &quot;This is exactly what happened to PCs. It&#39;s exactly what happened to tablets. It&#39;s starting to happen to smartphones.&quot;

Apple is close-mouthed about upcoming product features, but analysts and reports from Asian component suppliers and others indicate that high-resolution displays based on OLED technology - possibly with curved edges - are likely to be part of the anniversary phone. A radical new design is not expected, according to analysts.

Some of the anticipated new technologies, notably wireless charging, remain messy. Samsung Electronics phones, for example, feature wireless charging but support two different sets of standards, one called Qi and the other AirFuel.

Apple recently joined the group backing Qi. But there are still at least five different groups working on wireless charging technology within Apple, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

As to 3D sensors, there is already one hiding in the iPhone 7. The front camera features what is known as a time-of-flight sensor, which helps it autofocus and is used in numerous phones including the Blackberry, according to TechInsights, a firm that examines the chips inside tech devices.

That sensor could be upgraded to a higher-resolution version that could handle 3-D mapping for facial recognition, said Jim Morrison, vice president at TechInsights.

Some analysts also speculate the company could remove the phone&#39;s home button, placing it and a fingerprint sensor beneath the front display glass, based on patents the company has filed.

&nbsp;

Slow growth

Global smartphone sales were up only 2.3 per cent to 1.47 billion units in 2016, according to IDC. Many carriers in the United States have stopped subsidising phones, causing phone buyers to think harder about their next purchase.

Apple will likely make a heavy marketing push around the phone&rsquo;s 10th anniversary. &ldquo;IPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started. The best is yet to come,&rdquo; Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in a statement January 8, the date the iPhone was announced by then-CEO Steve Jobs in 2007.

In 2015, the last year it disclosed the figure, Apple spent $1.8 billion on advertising, up 50 per cent from the year before and nearly four times the $467 million it spent in 2007 when it first released the iPhone.

And the company continues to excel at selling higher-priced phones. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri attributed the most recent quarter&#39;s record-setting 78.3 million iPhones sold to the iPhone 7 Plus, which for the first time included a new dual camera feature not found in other models.

The iPhone 7 Plus tops out at $969 with memory upgrades and a jet black finish. O&#39;Donnell of Technalysis Research believes that with the next iPhone, Apple might even introduce a $1,000-plus &ldquo;ultra-premium device for the real Apple-crazed folks out there who want to stand out.&quot;

(Reuters)

Some analysts speculate that Apple could remove the phone's home button in the new iPhone

When Apple launches its much-anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone this fall, it will offer an unwitting lesson in how much the smartphone industry it pioneered has matured. The new iPhone is expected to include new features such as high-resolution displays, wireless charging and 3D sensors. Rather than representing major breakthroughs, however, most of the innovations have been available in competing phones for several years. Apple's relatively slow adoption of new features both reflects and reinforces the fact smartphone customers are holding onto their phones longer. Timothy Arcuri, an analyst at Cowen & Co, believes upwards of 40 per cent of iPhones on the market are more than two years old, a historical high. That is a big reason why investors have driven Apple shares to an all-time high. There is pent-up demand for a new iPhone, even if it does not offer breakthrough technologies. It is not clear whether Apple deliberately held off on packing some of the new features into the current iPhone 7, which has been criticised for a lack of differentiation from its predecessor. Apple declined to comment on the upcoming product. Still, the development and roll-out of the anniversary iPhone suggest Apple’s product strategy is driven less by technological innovation than by consumer upgrade cycles and Apple’s own business and marketing needs. "When a market gets saturated, the growth is all about refresh," said Bob O’Donnell of Technalysis Research. "This is exactly what happened to PCs. It's exactly what happened to tablets. It's starting to happen to smartphones." Apple is close-mouthed about upcoming product features, but analysts and reports from Asian component suppliers and others indicate that high-resolution displays based on OLED technology - possibly with curved edges - are likely to be part of the anniversary phone. A radical new design is not expected, according to analysts. Some of the anticipated new technologies, notably wireless charging, remain messy. Samsung Electronics phones, for example, feature wireless charging but support two different sets of standards, one called Qi and the other AirFuel. Apple recently joined the group backing Qi. But there are still at least five different groups working on wireless charging technology within Apple, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. As to 3D sensors, there is already one hiding in the iPhone 7. The front camera features what is known as a time-of-flight sensor, which helps it autofocus and is used in numerous phones including the Blackberry, according to TechInsights, a firm that examines the chips inside tech devices. That sensor could be upgraded to a higher-resolution version that could handle 3-D mapping for facial recognition, said Jim Morrison, vice president at TechInsights. Some analysts also speculate the company could remove the phone's home button, placing it and a fingerprint sensor beneath the front display glass, based on patents the company has filed. Slow growth Global smartphone sales were up only 2.3 per cent to 1.47 billion units in 2016, according to IDC. Many carriers in the United States have stopped subsidising phones, causing phone buyers to think harder about their next purchase. Apple will likely make a heavy marketing push around the phone’s 10th anniversary. “IPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started. The best is yet to come,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in a statement January 8, the date the iPhone was announced by then-CEO Steve Jobs in 2007. In 2015, the last year it disclosed the figure, Apple spent $1.8 billion on advertising, up 50 per cent from the year before and nearly four times the $467 million it spent in 2007 when it first released the iPhone. And the company continues to excel at selling higher-priced phones. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri attributed the most recent quarter's record-setting 78.3 million iPhones sold to the iPhone 7 Plus, which for the first time included a new dual camera feature not found in other models. The iPhone 7 Plus tops out at $969 with memory upgrades and a jet black finish. O'Donnell of Technalysis Research believes that with the next iPhone, Apple might even introduce a $1,000-plus “ultra-premium device for the real Apple-crazed folks out there who want to stand out." (Reuters)

Why the new Apple iPhone may not come with breakthrough features - yet again

Apple, in the coming months, will start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE models at a contract manufacturer&#39;s plant in the southern Indian technology hub of Bengaluru, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

Apple&#39;s Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron Corp is setting up a plant in Bengaluru to focus solely on assembling iPhones, a separate source told Reuters earlier this month.

Apple&#39;s move comes as it seeks to boost its share in the world&#39;s fastest growing major mobile market, where handsets far cheaper than Apple&#39;s iPhones dominate. It also comes as smartphone sales growth is slowing in Asia&#39;s other massive market, China.

To lower prices, Apple has been seeking to set up local production and has been in talks with the Indian government regarding issues such as tax concessions.

The industry source told Reuters the initial manufacturing of the iPhone SE model was not contingent on those concessions.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Economic Times newspaper earlier on Friday reported Apple planned to initially assemble 300,000 to 400,000 iPhone SE handsets in India. The industry source told Reuters the numbers would be substantially lower to begin with. 
The source also said it was too early to say what other phone models Apple would assemble at the Bengaluru plant.

Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones to India last year, with a third coming in the December quarter, according to market researcher Counterpoint, which estimates that three-quarters of smartphones sold in India were made locally.

In the fourth quarter, Apple ranked 10th in India&#39;s smartphone market but led the premium segment with a 62 per cent market share, Counterpoint said.

Samsung Electronics and a host of Chinese players including Xiaomi and Vivo dominate India&#39;s smartphone market where the vast majority of phones sold are priced below 15,000 rupees ($225).

In comparison, the entry level iPhone SE model sells on Amazon.com&#39;s India site for 28,433 rupees ($424).

(Reuters)

Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron Corp is setting up a plant in Bengaluru to focus solely on assembling iPhones

Apple, in the coming months, will start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE models at a contract manufacturer's plant in the southern Indian technology hub of Bengaluru, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron Corp is setting up a plant in Bengaluru to focus solely on assembling iPhones, a separate source told Reuters earlier this month. Apple's move comes as it seeks to boost its share in the world's fastest growing major mobile market, where handsets far cheaper than Apple's iPhones dominate. It also comes as smartphone sales growth is slowing in Asia's other massive market, China. To lower prices, Apple has been seeking to set up local production and has been in talks with the Indian government regarding issues such as tax concessions. The industry source told Reuters the initial manufacturing of the iPhone SE model was not contingent on those concessions. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Economic Times newspaper earlier on Friday reported Apple planned to initially assemble 300,000 to 400,000 iPhone SE handsets in India. The industry source told Reuters the numbers would be substantially lower to begin with. The source also said it was too early to say what other phone models Apple would assemble at the Bengaluru plant. Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones to India last year, with a third coming in the December quarter, according to market researcher Counterpoint, which estimates that three-quarters of smartphones sold in India were made locally. In the fourth quarter, Apple ranked 10th in India's smartphone market but led the premium segment with a 62 per cent market share, Counterpoint said. Samsung Electronics and a host of Chinese players including Xiaomi and Vivo dominate India's smartphone market where the vast majority of phones sold are priced below 15,000 rupees ($225). In comparison, the entry level iPhone SE model sells on Amazon.com's India site for 28,433 rupees ($424). (Reuters)

iPhone SE will be the first Apple phone to be made in India: Report

Inside the original Macintosh computer, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs inscribed the signatures of his team, revealing his deep concern for even the hidden features of his products.

His last work - Apple&#39;s sprawling new headquarters in Cupertino, California - will be a fitting tribute: a futuristic campus built with astonishing attention to detail. From the arrangement of electrical wiring to the finish of a hidden pipe, no aspect of the 2.8 million-square-foot main building has been too small to attract scrutiny.

But constructing a building as flawless as a hand-held device is no easy feat, according to interviews with nearly two dozen current and former workers on the project, most of whom would not be named because they signed non-disclosure agreements.

Since Apple unveiled its plans in 2011, the move-in date has slowly receded: Jobs&#39; initial projection was 2015, but this spring now seems most likely, according to people involved in the project. A lengthy approval process with the city contributed to the delay.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/2017-02-07t065231z_1_lynxmped16088_rtroptp_3_apple-campus-20170207082313.JPG" />
<div class="media-description">
An aerial view of Apple&#39;s new &quot;spaceship campus&quot;. (Reuters)
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Apple has not revealed the total price tag, but former project managers estimate it at about $5 billion - a figure CEO Tim Cook did not dispute in a 2015 TV interview. More than $1 billion was allocated for the interior of the main building alone, according to a former construction manager.

For all the time and money sunk into the project, some in the architecture community question whether Apple has focused on the right ends. The campus is something of an exception to the trend of radically open offices aimed at fostering collaboration, said Louise Mozingo, a professor and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at UC Berkeley. Its central office building - a massive ring of glass frequently likened to a spaceship &ndash; could be a challenge just to navigate, she noted.

&quot;It&#39;s not about maximising the productivity of the office space, it&#39;s about creating a symbolic centre for this global company,&quot; she said. &ldquo;They are creating an icon.&rdquo;

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment for this story.

World&rsquo;s largest piece of curved glass

Tech companies have long favoured generic office parks, which allow them to lease and shed space through booms and busts. Jobs&rsquo; unveiling of what&#39;s formally known as Apple Campus 2, months before his death, marked a new chapter in Silicon Valley architecture.

When completed, the campus will house up to 14,200 employees, according to the 2013 project description. The main building - which boasts the world&#39;s largest piece of curved glass - will be surrounded by a lush canopy of thousands of trees. Little remains from the cement-laden campus Apple acquired from Hewlett-Packard, though the iPhone maker preserved a century-old barn that remained intact as the land passed from tech giant to tech giant.
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But what was most striking to those who worked on the project was Apple managers&#39; insistence on treating the construction of the vast complex the same way they approach the design of pocket-sized electronics.

Apple&#39;s in-house construction team enforced many rules: No vents or pipes could be reflected in the glass. Guidelines for the special wood used frequently throughout the building ran to some 30 pages.

Tolerances, the distance materials may deviate from desired measurements, were a particular focus. On many projects, the standard is 1/8 of an inch at best; Apple often demanded far less, even for hidden surfaces.

The company&#39;s keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said.

&quot;With phones, you can build to very, very minute tolerances,&quot; he said. &quot;You would never design to that level of tolerance on a building. Your doors would jam.&quot;

The project, which generated about 13,000 full-time construction jobs, took a toll on contractors. The original general contractors, Skanska USA and DPR Construction, left after work began, which construction experts called a rare development for a project of such scale. The reasons for the departures are unclear, and neither Apple nor the firms would comment.

Faithful to design principles

Apple&#39;s novel approach to the building took many forms. Architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, found many of the proportions - such as the curve of a rounded corner - came from Apple&#39;s products. The elevator buttons struck some workers as resembling the iPhone&#39;s home button; one former manager even likened the toilet&#39;s sleek design to the device.

But de la Torre ultimately saw that Apple executives were not trying to evoke the iPhone per se, but rather following something akin to the Platonic ideal of form and dimension.

&quot;They have arrived at design principles somehow through many years of experimentation, and they are faithful to those principles,&quot; de la Torre said.

Fanatical attention to detail is a key tenet. Early in construction, Apple managers told the construction team that the ceiling - composed of large panels of polished concrete - should be immaculate inside and out, just as the inside of the iPhone&rsquo;s audio jack is a finished product, a former construction manager recalled.

Thus, each of the thousands of ceiling panels had to win approval from both Apple&#39;s in-house team and the general contractor, once at the shop and then again at the construction site.

&quot;The things you can&rsquo;t see, they all mattered to Apple,&rdquo; the former construction manager said.

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Apple&#39;s headquarters is seen in Cupertino, California in this aerial photo. (Reuters)
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One of the most vexing features was the doorways, which Apple wanted to be perfectly flat, with no threshold. The construction team pushed back, but Apple held firm.

The rationale? If engineers had to adjust their gait while entering the building, they risked distraction from their work, according to a former construction manager.

&ldquo;We spent months trying not to do that because that&rsquo;s time, money and stuff that&rsquo;s never been done before,&rdquo; the former construction manager said.

Time and time again, Apple managers spent months perfecting minute features, creating a domino effect that set back other parts of the project, former construction managers say.

Signage required a delicate balancing act: Apple wanted all signs to reflect its sleek, minimalist aesthetic, but the fire department needed to ensure the building could be swiftly navigated in an emergency.

Dirk Mattern, a retired deputy fire chief who is representing the Santa Clara County Fire Department on the project, estimated he attended 15 meetings that touched on the topic.

&quot;I&rsquo;ve never spent so much time on signage,&quot; he said.

Like a painting

When Apple tapped general contractors Holder Construction and Rudolph &amp; Sletten to finish the main building in 2015, one of the first orders of business was finalising a door handle for conference rooms and offices.

After months of back and forth, construction workers presented their work to a manager from Apple&rsquo;s in-house team, who turned the sample over and over in his hands. Finally, he said he felt a faint bump.

The construction team double-checked the measurements, unable to find any imperfections - down to the nanometre. Still, Apple insisted on another version.

The construction manager who was so intimately involved in the door handle did not see its completion. Down to his last day, Apple was still fiddling with the design - after a year and a half of debate.

When construction wraps, the only fingerprints on the site will be Jobs&#39;. Workers often had to wear gloves to avoid marring the delicate materials, said Brett Davis, regional director of the District Council 16 union for painters and related crafts.

&quot;It&#39;s like a painting that you don&#39;t want to touch,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#39;s definitely going to be something to see, if they let you in.&quot;

(Reuters)

Apple seeks design perfection at its new 'spaceship' campus

Inside the original Macintosh computer, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs inscribed the signatures of his team, revealing his deep concern for even the hidden features of his products. His last work - Apple's sprawling new headquarters in Cupertino, California - will be a fitting tribute: a futuristic campus built with astonishing attention to detail. From the arrangement of electrical wiring to the finish of a hidden pipe, no aspect of the 2.8 million-square-foot main building has been too small to attract scrutiny. But constructing a building as flawless as a hand-held device is no easy feat, according to interviews with nearly two dozen current and former workers on the project, most of whom would not be named because they signed non-disclosure agreements. Since Apple unveiled its plans in 2011, the move-in date has slowly receded: Jobs' initial projection was 2015, but this spring now seems most likely, according to people involved in the project. A lengthy approval process with the city contributed to the delay. An aerial view of Apple's new "spaceship campus". (Reuters) × Apple has not revealed the total price tag, but former project managers estimate it at about $5 billion - a figure CEO Tim Cook did not dispute in a 2015 TV interview. More than $1 billion was allocated for the interior of the main building alone, according to a former construction manager. For all the time and money sunk into the project, some in the architecture community question whether Apple has focused on the right ends. The campus is something of an exception to the trend of radically open offices aimed at fostering collaboration, said Louise Mozingo, a professor and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at UC Berkeley. Its central office building - a massive ring of glass frequently likened to a spaceship – could be a challenge just to navigate, she noted. "It's not about maximising the productivity of the office space, it's about creating a symbolic centre for this global company," she said. “They are creating an icon.” An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment for this story. World’s largest piece of curved glass Tech companies have long favoured generic office parks, which allow them to lease and shed space through booms and busts. Jobs’ unveiling of what's formally known as Apple Campus 2, months before his death, marked a new chapter in Silicon Valley architecture. When completed, the campus will house up to 14,200 employees, according to the 2013 project description. The main building - which boasts the world's largest piece of curved glass - will be surrounded by a lush canopy of thousands of trees. Little remains from the cement-laden campus Apple acquired from Hewlett-Packard, though the iPhone maker preserved a century-old barn that remained intact as the land passed from tech giant to tech giant. But what was most striking to those who worked on the project was Apple managers' insistence on treating the construction of the vast complex the same way they approach the design of pocket-sized electronics. Apple's in-house construction team enforced many rules: No vents or pipes could be reflected in the glass. Guidelines for the special wood used frequently throughout the building ran to some 30 pages. Tolerances, the distance materials may deviate from desired measurements, were a particular focus. On many projects, the standard is 1/8 of an inch at best; Apple often demanded far less, even for hidden surfaces. The company's keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said. "With phones, you can build to very, very minute tolerances," he said. "You would never design to that level of tolerance on a building. Your doors would jam." The project, which generated about 13,000 full-time construction jobs, took a toll on contractors. The original general contractors, Skanska USA and DPR Construction, left after work began, which construction experts called a rare development for a project of such scale. The reasons for the departures are unclear, and neither Apple nor the firms would comment. Faithful to design principles Apple's novel approach to the building took many forms. Architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, found many of the proportions - such as the curve of a rounded corner - came from Apple's products. The elevator buttons struck some workers as resembling the iPhone's home button; one former manager even likened the toilet's sleek design to the device. But de la Torre ultimately saw that Apple executives were not trying to evoke the iPhone per se, but rather following something akin to the Platonic ideal of form and dimension. "They have arrived at design principles somehow through many years of experimentation, and they are faithful to those principles," de la Torre said. Fanatical attention to detail is a key tenet. Early in construction, Apple managers told the construction team that the ceiling - composed of large panels of polished concrete - should be immaculate inside and out, just as the inside of the iPhone’s audio jack is a finished product, a former construction manager recalled. Thus, each of the thousands of ceiling panels had to win approval from both Apple's in-house team and the general contractor, once at the shop and then again at the construction site. "The things you can’t see, they all mattered to Apple,” the former construction manager said. Apple's headquarters is seen in Cupertino, California in this aerial photo. (Reuters) × One of the most vexing features was the doorways, which Apple wanted to be perfectly flat, with no threshold. The construction team pushed back, but Apple held firm. The rationale? If engineers had to adjust their gait while entering the building, they risked distraction from their work, according to a former construction manager. “We spent months trying not to do that because that’s time, money and stuff that’s never been done before,” the former construction manager said. Time and time again, Apple managers spent months perfecting minute features, creating a domino effect that set back other parts of the project, former construction managers say. Signage required a delicate balancing act: Apple wanted all signs to reflect its sleek, minimalist aesthetic, but the fire department needed to ensure the building could be swiftly navigated in an emergency. Dirk Mattern, a retired deputy fire chief who is representing the Santa Clara County Fire Department on the project, estimated he attended 15 meetings that touched on the topic. "I’ve never spent so much time on signage," he said. Like a painting When Apple tapped general contractors Holder Construction and Rudolph & Sletten to finish the main building in 2015, one of the first orders of business was finalising a door handle for conference rooms and offices. After months of back and forth, construction workers presented their work to a manager from Apple’s in-house team, who turned the sample over and over in his hands. Finally, he said he felt a faint bump. The construction team double-checked the measurements, unable to find any imperfections - down to the nanometre. Still, Apple insisted on another version. The construction manager who was so intimately involved in the door handle did not see its completion. Down to his last day, Apple was still fiddling with the design - after a year and a half of debate. When construction wraps, the only fingerprints on the site will be Jobs'. Workers often had to wear gloves to avoid marring the delicate materials, said Brett Davis, regional director of the District Council 16 union for painters and related crafts. "It's like a painting that you don't want to touch," he said. "It's definitely going to be something to see, if they let you in." (Reuters)

Apple's new 'spaceship' campus boasts the world's largest piece of curved glass

Several technology giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft have banded together to file a legal brief opposing President Donald Trump&#39;s temporary immigration ban, arguing that it &quot;inflicts significant harm on American business.&quot;

The brief, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, included other top tech firms including Facebook, Twitter and Intel, as well as non-tech companies such as Levi Strauss and Chobani. In all nearly 100 firms, including eBay, Netflix and Uber signed onto the brief.

Trump&#39;s temporary immigration ban, the most contentious policy move of his first two weeks in offices, faces crucial legal hurdles.

His administration has a deadline on Monday to justify the executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries and the entry of refugees, after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it with a temporary restraining order on Friday.

&quot;The Order represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system of the United States for more than fifty years,&quot; the brief stated.

&quot;The Order inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result,&quot; it added.

&quot;Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list.&quot;

US tech firms have been among the more vocal sectors speaking out against the policy, with many of its staff made up of foreign-born nationals.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco over the weekend denied the Trump administration&#39;s request for an immediate stay of the federal judge&#39;s temporary restraining order that blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban.

But the court said it would reconsider the government&#39;s request after receiving more information.

 
(Reuters)

On January 27, Trump had issued an order imposing a 90-day ban affecting citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria & Yemen

Several technology giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft have banded together to file a legal brief opposing President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban, arguing that it "inflicts significant harm on American business." The brief, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, included other top tech firms including Facebook, Twitter and Intel, as well as non-tech companies such as Levi Strauss and Chobani. In all nearly 100 firms, including eBay, Netflix and Uber signed onto the brief. Trump's temporary immigration ban, the most contentious policy move of his first two weeks in offices, faces crucial legal hurdles. His administration has a deadline on Monday to justify the executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries and the entry of refugees, after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it with a temporary restraining order on Friday. "The Order represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system of the United States for more than fifty years," the brief stated. "The Order inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result," it added. "Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list." US tech firms have been among the more vocal sectors speaking out against the policy, with many of its staff made up of foreign-born nationals. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco over the weekend denied the Trump administration's request for an immediate stay of the federal judge's temporary restraining order that blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban. But the court said it would reconsider the government's request after receiving more information. (Reuters)

Apple, Facebook and other tech giants to urge Trump to alter US travel ban

Apple is all set to start making iPhones in India this year, a local government official said on Friday, as the firm looks to tap a booming middle class as sales in China slow.

The US giant has not confirmed the move, but chief executive Tim Cook said this week the company intended to &quot;invest significantly&quot; in India, where a pick-up in the economy provides ample opportunity for growth.

&quot;We have an understanding with Apple and we expect them to start manufacturing in Karnataka by the end of April,&quot; Priyank Kharge, minister of information technology and biotechnology in southern Karnataka state, told AFP.

He also added, &quot;Apple&#39;s intentions to manufacture in Bengaluru will foster cutting edge technology eco system and supply chain development in the state, which are critical for India to compete globally.&quot;

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Apple&#39;s intentions to make iPhones in Bengaluru will foster cutting-edge technology ecosystem &amp; supply chain development in the state.
&mdash; Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) <a href="https://twitter.com/PriyankKharge/status/827204532794904576">February 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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He said the new operation would likely assemble iPhones for the domestic market.

Apple has only a two per cent share of the Indian market, well behind rival Samsung on 23 per cent, according to research firm Canalys.

However, last year it had 48 per cent of the premium sector in which phones sell for $450 and above.

Experts said manufacturing locally would reduce the company&#39;s costs and enable it to lower prices.

&quot;They&rsquo;re eager to be here because they&#39;ve identified India as a strategic focus market,&quot; said Jaideep Mehta of research firm IDC.

&quot;They had a fantastic 2016 in India and shipped more two million devices to India, and now they&rsquo;re looking to ultimately manufacture here as that gives them more flexibility to respond to market changes.&quot;

Apple currently sells its phones in India through third-party retailers. It is eager to open its own stores but Indian law would require it to procure 30 per cent of the components of its products locally.

It is not clear whether the Karnataka plans would help it clear that hurdle. Reports in Indian media said Wistron Corp, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, was lined up to assemble iPhones at a plant on the outskirts of tech hub Bangalore.

Apple outsources all its manufacturing globally. Analysts said that if confirmed the move would be a coup for India&#39;s government, which has been trying to persuade foreign companies to manufacture in the country.

Apple representatives met with federal and state government officials in India last week, as it is lobbying hard for a raft of tax and sourcing concessions from India, before it begins to assemble iPhones in the country.

Following the meetings, Apple said it appreciated the open and constructive dialogue it held with Indian officials, around the expansion of its local operations in the country.

Any final decision around manufacturing in India, however, is likely to still be contingent on the government&#39;s willingness to concede ground on the concessions sought by the company.

(WION with inouts from Agencies)

Apple looks to tap a booming middle class as sales in China slow.

Apple is all set to start making iPhones in India this year, a local government official said on Friday, as the firm looks to tap a booming middle class as sales in China slow. The US giant has not confirmed the move, but chief executive Tim Cook said this week the company intended to "invest significantly" in India, where a pick-up in the economy provides ample opportunity for growth. "We have an understanding with Apple and we expect them to start manufacturing in Karnataka by the end of April," Priyank Kharge, minister of information technology and biotechnology in southern Karnataka state, told AFP. He also added, "Apple's intentions to manufacture in Bengaluru will foster cutting edge technology eco system and supply chain development in the state, which are critical for India to compete globally." Apple's intentions to make iPhones in Bengaluru will foster cutting-edge technology ecosystem & supply chain development in the state. — Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) February 2, 2017 × He said the new operation would likely assemble iPhones for the domestic market. Apple has only a two per cent share of the Indian market, well behind rival Samsung on 23 per cent, according to research firm Canalys. However, last year it had 48 per cent of the premium sector in which phones sell for $450 and above. Experts said manufacturing locally would reduce the company's costs and enable it to lower prices. "They’re eager to be here because they've identified India as a strategic focus market," said Jaideep Mehta of research firm IDC. "They had a fantastic 2016 in India and shipped more two million devices to India, and now they’re looking to ultimately manufacture here as that gives them more flexibility to respond to market changes." Apple currently sells its phones in India through third-party retailers. It is eager to open its own stores but Indian law would require it to procure 30 per cent of the components of its products locally. It is not clear whether the Karnataka plans would help it clear that hurdle. Reports in Indian media said Wistron Corp, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, was lined up to assemble iPhones at a plant on the outskirts of tech hub Bangalore. Apple outsources all its manufacturing globally. Analysts said that if confirmed the move would be a coup for India's government, which has been trying to persuade foreign companies to manufacture in the country. Apple representatives met with federal and state government officials in India last week, as it is lobbying hard for a raft of tax and sourcing concessions from India, before it begins to assemble iPhones in the country. Following the meetings, Apple said it appreciated the open and constructive dialogue it held with Indian officials, around the expansion of its local operations in the country. Any final decision around manufacturing in India, however, is likely to still be contingent on the government's willingness to concede ground on the concessions sought by the company. (WION with inouts from Agencies)

Apple will start making iPhones in India by April

A US appeals court on Thursday revived a civil suit accusing Apple of creating a monopoly by making its App Store the only place to buy iPhone applications.

The suit, initially filed in late 2011, seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages based on the reasoning that the lack of competition pushed app prices higher.

An appellate court panel in San Francisco reversed a lower court judge&#39;s decision to derail the suit on the grounds iPhone owners were doing business with app creators and not Apple at the online shop.

&quot;The panel reversed the dismissal for lack of statutory standing of an antitrust complaint alleging that Apple, Inc, monopolised and attempted to monopolise the market for iPhone apps,&quot; the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in a written ruling.

&quot;The panel held that the plaintiffs were direct purchasers of iPhone apps from Apple, rather than the app developers, and therefore had standing to sue.&quot;

The ruling gave a green light for the suit to resume, paving the way for a potential big-money payout or even an open market for apps for Apple devices.

Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, creating a walled garden into which only applications approved by the California-based company were permitted. A year later, Apple launched the App Store as an online shop for apps and other content for iPhones, with the company getting to approve offerings and taking 30 per cent of the price of what third-party developers sold there.

In the motion that got the case dismissed, Apple had argued that iPhone owners were doing business with app makers and therefore lacked the standing to sue the company in the matter.

However, the appellate panel ruled that Apple &quot;is a distributor of the iPhone apps, selling them directly to purchasers through its App Store&quot;.

&quot;Because Apple is a distributor, Plaintiffs have standing under Illinois Brick to sue Apple for allegedly monopolising and attempting to monopolise the sale of iPhone apps,&quot; it said.

Apple declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

The iPhone&#39;s launch a decade ago under Apple&#39;s late co-founder Steve Jobs set the stage for mobile computing and an entire industry revolving around it. The company has since been working to make more money from services and apps.

The iPhone maker said its App Store had its busiest single day ever on New Year&#39;s Day, capping a record-breaking holiday season for the online shop.

Since the App Store launched in 2008, developers have earned more than $60 billion from software creations tailored for Apple devices, the company says.

(AFP)

The suit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, claiming Apple's lack of competition increased the price of apps

A US appeals court on Thursday revived a civil suit accusing Apple of creating a monopoly by making its App Store the only place to buy iPhone applications. The suit, initially filed in late 2011, seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages based on the reasoning that the lack of competition pushed app prices higher. An appellate court panel in San Francisco reversed a lower court judge's decision to derail the suit on the grounds iPhone owners were doing business with app creators and not Apple at the online shop. "The panel reversed the dismissal for lack of statutory standing of an antitrust complaint alleging that Apple, Inc, monopolised and attempted to monopolise the market for iPhone apps," the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in a written ruling. "The panel held that the plaintiffs were direct purchasers of iPhone apps from Apple, rather than the app developers, and therefore had standing to sue." The ruling gave a green light for the suit to resume, paving the way for a potential big-money payout or even an open market for apps for Apple devices. Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, creating a walled garden into which only applications approved by the California-based company were permitted. A year later, Apple launched the App Store as an online shop for apps and other content for iPhones, with the company getting to approve offerings and taking 30 per cent of the price of what third-party developers sold there. In the motion that got the case dismissed, Apple had argued that iPhone owners were doing business with app makers and therefore lacked the standing to sue the company in the matter. However, the appellate panel ruled that Apple "is a distributor of the iPhone apps, selling them directly to purchasers through its App Store". "Because Apple is a distributor, Plaintiffs have standing under Illinois Brick to sue Apple for allegedly monopolising and attempting to monopolise the sale of iPhone apps," it said. Apple declined to comment when contacted by AFP. The iPhone's launch a decade ago under Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs set the stage for mobile computing and an entire industry revolving around it. The company has since been working to make more money from services and apps. The iPhone maker said its App Store had its busiest single day ever on New Year's Day, capping a record-breaking holiday season for the online shop. Since the App Store launched in 2008, developers have earned more than $60 billion from software creations tailored for Apple devices, the company says. (AFP)

Apple lawsuit calling tech giant's app store a 'monopoly' to continue

Apple has cut its CEO Tim Cook&#39;s salary by 15 per cent for 2016 as annual sales declined for the year, missing targets that also led to the tech giant&#39;s first annual revenue decline in 15 years.

The company gave the 56-year-old $8.75 million in total compensation last year, down from the $10.28 million he received in 2015, according to a Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing released yesterday.

Cook&#39;s salary rose to $3 million from $2 million last year - a 50 per cent increase, his cash bonus took a hit. Apple awarded Cook and other executives 89.5 per cent of their target, instead of the maximum amount like in recent years.

Hence, Cook&#39;s cash bonus fell to $5.4 million in 2016, down from $8 million the year before and declining for the first time since he assumed leadership of the company in 2011.

Apple specifically cited the company&#39;s failure to meet its performance goals for both sales and profits. Sales volume of the iPhone fell in fiscal 2016 for the first time since the device was introduced in 2007, causing the tech icon to suffer its first annual revenue decline in 15 years.

The company said its annual sales were down nearly 4 per cent, or $215.6 billion, from its target of $223.6 billion, and its operating income was down 0.5 per cent from its target at $60 billion, according to the filing.

&quot;Overall, our 2016 performance with respect to net sales and operating income was 7.7 per cent and 15.7 per cent below our record-breaking 2015 levels,&quot; Apple said in the filing. &quot;However, the 2016 payouts to our named executive officers were significantly less than the annual cash incentive payouts for 2015, reflecting strong pay-for-performance alignment.&quot;

Apple&#39;s rare sales slump is directly linked to the loss of momentum for the iPhone, which generates the majority of the company&#39;s sales.

Sales of iPhones have declined in each of the past three quarters, slipping to 45.5 million in the September quarter, with reports saying Apple has faced steep competition from Samsung and other smartphone makers and the newest iPhones did not feature enough upgrades to attract customers.

In October, Cook said that demand for the iPhone 7 and the bigger 7 Plus, which feature enhanced cameras and longer battery life, have outpaced supply though Apple would only report quarterly sales for those phones on January 31.

(PTI)

Apple's rare sales slump is directly linked to the loss of momentum for the iPhone, which generates the majority of the company's sales

Apple has cut its CEO Tim Cook's salary by 15 per cent for 2016 as annual sales declined for the year, missing targets that also led to the tech giant's first annual revenue decline in 15 years. The company gave the 56-year-old $8.75 million in total compensation last year, down from the $10.28 million he received in 2015, according to a Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing released yesterday. Cook's salary rose to $3 million from $2 million last year - a 50 per cent increase, his cash bonus took a hit. Apple awarded Cook and other executives 89.5 per cent of their target, instead of the maximum amount like in recent years. Hence, Cook's cash bonus fell to $5.4 million in 2016, down from $8 million the year before and declining for the first time since he assumed leadership of the company in 2011. Apple specifically cited the company's failure to meet its performance goals for both sales and profits. Sales volume of the iPhone fell in fiscal 2016 for the first time since the device was introduced in 2007, causing the tech icon to suffer its first annual revenue decline in 15 years. The company said its annual sales were down nearly 4 per cent, or $215.6 billion, from its target of $223.6 billion, and its operating income was down 0.5 per cent from its target at $60 billion, according to the filing. "Overall, our 2016 performance with respect to net sales and operating income was 7.7 per cent and 15.7 per cent below our record-breaking 2015 levels," Apple said in the filing. "However, the 2016 payouts to our named executive officers were significantly less than the annual cash incentive payouts for 2015, reflecting strong pay-for-performance alignment." Apple's rare sales slump is directly linked to the loss of momentum for the iPhone, which generates the majority of the company's sales. Sales of iPhones have declined in each of the past three quarters, slipping to 45.5 million in the September quarter, with reports saying Apple has faced steep competition from Samsung and other smartphone makers and the newest iPhones did not feature enough upgrades to attract customers. In October, Cook said that demand for the iPhone 7 and the bigger 7 Plus, which feature enhanced cameras and longer battery life, have outpaced supply though Apple would only report quarterly sales for those phones on January 31. (PTI)

Apple cuts CEO's pay as iPhone sales drop first time

&nbsp;

Chinese state-run tabloid has chided the New York Times over its reporting practices after Apple Inc removed the newspaper&#39;s app from its China app store at the request of the Chinese government.&nbsp;

The Global Times editorial, released on Friday, said the New York Times had in the past four years been &quot;trying to wield influence in China&#39;s internal affairs&quot; by doing investigative stories on sensitive subjects. It did not give specific examples.&nbsp;

&quot;China is sincere in opening itself up but the pre-requisite is to ensure its political security, the Western media should not question China if it is to close its doors by scrutinizing one particular issue&quot; said the editorial in the Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party&#39;s official People&#39;s Daily.

Apple removed the newspaper&#39;s English and Chinese-language apps on Dec. 23, citing requests from Chinese authorities.&nbsp;

The Global Times said Apple &quot;cares most about business, so it is willing to respect Chinese laws&quot;, adding that Apple faced tough competition from local brands in Greater China.&nbsp;The New York Times pointed to a recent investigative report on government subsidies offered to Apple supplier Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precison Industry Co, as a possible reason for the ban.

&quot;The development of the Internet in China must respect China&#39;s laws and regulations, in principle,&quot; foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said&nbsp;in response to a question about the apps.

In a&nbsp;report on the app&#39;s removal, the New York Times cited their own spokesperson&nbsp;as saying the app was removed shortly after a journalist made requests to government authorities, Foxconn and Apple seeking comment for the story.&nbsp;The New York Times called on Apple to reconsider the ban, and said the block was part of a wider attempt to prevent readers from accessing the US&nbsp;publication.&nbsp;

The newspaper is one of many foreign publications that is blocked within the country by China`s cyber authority. But the apps from other blocked news sites, including the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, remain available on the China app store.

(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

Apple Inc had removed the newspaper's app from its China app store at the request of the Chinese government.

Chinese state-run tabloid has chided the New York Times over its reporting practices after Apple Inc removed the newspaper's app from its China app store at the request of the Chinese government. The Global Times editorial, released on Friday, said the New York Times had in the past four years been "trying to wield influence in China's internal affairs" by doing investigative stories on sensitive subjects. It did not give specific examples. "China is sincere in opening itself up but the pre-requisite is to ensure its political security, the Western media should not question China if it is to close its doors by scrutinizing one particular issue" said the editorial in the Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily. Apple removed the newspaper's English and Chinese-language apps on Dec. 23, citing requests from Chinese authorities. The Global Times said Apple "cares most about business, so it is willing to respect Chinese laws", adding that Apple faced tough competition from local brands in Greater China. The New York Times pointed to a recent investigative report on government subsidies offered to Apple supplier Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precison Industry Co, as a possible reason for the ban. "The development of the Internet in China must respect China's laws and regulations, in principle," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in response to a question about the apps. In a report on the app's removal, the New York Times cited their own spokesperson as saying the app was removed shortly after a journalist made requests to government authorities, Foxconn and Apple seeking comment for the story. The New York Times called on Apple to reconsider the ban, and said the block was part of a wider attempt to prevent readers from accessing the US publication. The newspaper is one of many foreign publications that is blocked within the country by China`s cyber authority. But the apps from other blocked news sites, including the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, remain available on the China app store. (Reuters)

Now, Chinese media attacks NYT's 'reporting practices'

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