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Tag: Consumer Products

  • Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow | CNN Business

    Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow | CNN Business

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    Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he welcomed and expected more investment from global chipmakers, after meeting top executives on Thursday before a Group of Seven summit.

    China is set to be high on the agenda of the annual G7 leaders meeting that begins on Friday, with the United States increasingly urging its allies to counter the Asian giant’s chip and advanced technology development.

    Growing Taiwan and US tensions with China have brought serious challenges to the semiconductor industry. Taiwan is a major producer of chips used in everything from cars and smartphones to fighter jets.

    Ensuring diversified, resilient supply chains is a key component of the economic security theme being emphasized by Japan at the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One.

    Kishida told the executives, including those from Micron Technology Inc

    (MU)    , Intel Corp

    (INTC)     and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co

    (TSM)     (TSMC), that stabilizing supply chains would be a topic of discussion at the G7 talks in the western city of Hiroshima.

    “I am very pleased with your positive attitude towards investment in Japan, and would like the government as a whole to work on further expanding direct investment in Japan and support the semiconductor industry,” Kishida said.

    An industry ministry official later said Kishida wanted to foster cooperation to strengthen semiconductor supply chains, while Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Japan would use 1.3 trillion yen ($9.63 billion) of the supplementary budget from the last fiscal year to support its chip business.

    In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp

    (FUJIF)    .

    Micron said in a statement that it would bring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to Japan, becoming the first semiconductor company to do so, and expected to invest up to 500 billion yen ($3.6 billion) with support from the Japanese government.

    Bloomberg News reported the financial incentives would total about 200 billion yen.

    An industry ministry official said no decision had been made on whether Japan would give a subsidy to Micron, but that one would be made as soon as possible.

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  • Micron Technology: China probes US chip maker for cybersecurity risks as tech tension escalates | CNN Business

    Micron Technology: China probes US chip maker for cybersecurity risks as tech tension escalates | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    China has launched a cybersecurity probe into Micron Technology, one of America’s largest memory chip makers, in apparent retaliation after US allies in Asia and Europe announced new restrictions on the sale of key technology to Beijing.

    The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) will review products sold by Micron in the country, according to a statement by the watchdog late on Friday.

    The move is aimed at “ensuring the security of key information infrastructure supply chains, preventing cybersecurity risks caused by hidden product problems, and maintaining national security,” it noted.

    It came on the same day that Japan, a US ally, said it would restrict the export of advanced chip manufacturing equipment to countries including China, following similar moves by the United States and the Netherlands.

    Washington and its allies have announced curbs on China’s semiconductor industry, which strike at the heart of Beijing’s bid to become a tech superpower.

    Last month, the Netherlands also unveiled new restrictions on overseas sales of semiconductor technology, citing the need to protect national security. In October, the United States banned Chinese companies from buying advanced chips and chipmaking equipment without a license.

    Micron told CNN it was aware of the review.

    “We are in communication with the CAC and are cooperating fully,” it said, adding that it stands by the security of its products.

    Shares in Micron sank 4.4% on Wall Street Friday following the news, the biggest drop in more than three months. Micron derives more than 10% of its revenue from China.

    In an earlier filing, the Idaho-based company had warned of such risks.

    “The Chinese government may restrict us from participating in the China market or may prevent us from competing effectively with Chinese companies,” it said last week.

    China has strongly criticized restrictions on tech exports, saying last month it “firmly opposes” such measures.

    In efforts to boost growth and job creation, Beijing is seeking to woo foreign investments as it grapples with mounting economic challenges. The newly minted premier Li Qiang and several top economic officials have been rolling out the welcome wagon for global CEOs and promising they would “provide a good environment and services.”

    But Beijing has also exerted growing pressure on foreign companies to bring them into line with its agenda.

    Last month, authorities closed the Beijing office of Mintz Group, a US corporate intelligence firm, and detained five local staff.

    Days earlier, they suspended Deloitte’s operations in Beijing for three months and imposed a fine of $31 million over alleged lapses in its work auditing a state-owned distressed debt manager.

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  • Warren Buffett gives reason for surprise sale of stake in Taiwan’s TSMC | CNN Business

    Warren Buffett gives reason for surprise sale of stake in Taiwan’s TSMC | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Warren Buffett says geopolitical tensions were “a consideration” in the decision to sell most of Berkshire Hathaway’s shares in global chip giant TSMC, which is based in Taiwan.

    The 92-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” shed light on the investment call in a Tuesday interview with Japanese news agency Nikkei. He was quoted as sayiing that TSMC was a well-managed company but that Berkshire had “better places” to deploy its capital.

    In February, Berkshire Hathaway

    (BRKA)     revealed that it had sold 86% of its shares in TSMC, which were purchased for $4.1 billion just months before.

    The quick sale was considered unusual because the billionaire is known for making longer term bets. The size of the purchase suggested that the initial purchase was most likely made personally by Buffett himself, rather than one of his portfolio managers, Reuters reported.

    TSMC is considered a national treasure in Taiwan and supplies semiconductors to tech giants including Apple

    (AAPL)     and Qualcomm

    (QCOM)    . It mass produces the most advanced semiconductors in the world, components that are vital to the smooth running of everything from smartphones to washing machines.

    The company is perceived as being so valuable to the global economy, as well as to China — which claims Taiwan as its own territory despite having never controlled it — that it is sometimes even referred to as forming part of a “silicon shield” against a potential military invasion by Beijing.

    TSMC’s presence is seen as providing a strong incentive to the West to defend Taiwan against any attempt by China to take it by force.

    This week, tensions soared across the Taiwan Strait after China simulated “joint precision strikes” on the island during a series of military exercises.

    Beijing launched the drills on Saturday, a day after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a 10-day visit to Central America and the United States where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

    Chinese officials described the drills as “a serious warning against the Taiwan separatist forces’ collusion with external forces, and a necessary move to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

    Beijing conducted similar large-scale military exercises around Taiwan last August, after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island.

    Taiwan and China have been governed separately since the end of a civil war more than seven decades ago, in which the defeated Nationalists fled to Taipei.

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  • US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision | CNN Business

    US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision | CNN Business

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    A US judge late on Tuesday granted the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request to temporarily block Microsoft Corp’s acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard and set a hearing next week.

    US District Judge Edward Davila scheduled a two-day evidentiary hearing on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction for June 22-23 in San Francisco. Without a court order, Microsoft could have closed on the $69 billion deal as early as Friday.

    The FTC, which enforces antitrust law, asked an administrative judge to block the transaction in early December. An evidential hearing in the administrative proceeding is set to begin Aug. 2.

    Based on the late-June hearing, the federal court will decide whether a preliminary injunction — which would last during the administrative review of the case — is necessary. The FTC sought the temporary block on Monday.

    Davila said the temporary restraining order issued on Tuesday “is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending (and) preserve this court’s ability to order effective relief in the event it determines a preliminary injunction is warranted and preserve the FTC’s ability to obtain an effective permanent remedy in the event that it prevails in its pending administrative proceeding.”

    Microsoft

    (MSFT)     and Activision

    (ATVI)     must submit legal arguments opposing a preliminary injunction by June 16; the FTC must reply on June 20.

    Activision, which said Monday the FTC decision to seek a federal court order was “a welcome update and one that accelerates the legal process,” declined to comment Tuesday.

    Microsoft said Tuesday “accelerating the legal process in the U.S will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the gaming market. A temporary restraining order makes sense until we can receive a decision from the court, which is moving swiftly.”

    The FTC declined to comment.

    Davila said the bar on closing will remain in place until at least five days after the court rules on the preliminary injunction request.

    The FTC has argued the transaction would give Microsoft’s video game console Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony Group Corp’s PlayStation out in the cold.

    Microsoft’s bid to acquire the “Call of Duty” video game maker was approved by the EU in May, but British competition authorities blocked the takeover in April.

    Microsoft has said the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies alike, and has offered to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to provide “Call of Duty” games to rivals including Sony for a decade.

    The case reflects the muscular approach to antitrust enforcement taken by the administration of US President Joe Biden.

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  • Seagate to pay $300 million penalty for shipping Huawei hard drives in violation of US export control laws | CNN Business

    Seagate to pay $300 million penalty for shipping Huawei hard drives in violation of US export control laws | CNN Business

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    Reuters
     — 

    Seagate Technology has agreed to pay a $300 million penalty in a settlement with US authorities for shipping over $1.1 billion worth of hard disk drives to China’s Huawei in violation of US export control laws, the Department of Commerce said on Wednesday.

    Seagate

    (STX)     sold the drives to Huawei between August 2020 and September 2021 despite an August 2020 rule that restricted sales of certain foreign items made with US technology to the company. Huawei was placed on the Entity List, a US trade blacklist, in 2019 to reduce the sale of US goods to the company amid national security and foreign policy concerns.

    The penalty represents the latest in a string of actions by Washington to keep sophisticated technology from China that may support its military, enable human rights abuses or otherwise threaten US security.

    Seagate shipped 7.4 million drives to Huawei for about a year after the 2020 rule took effect and became Huawei’s sole supplier of hard drives, the Commerce Department said.

    The other two primary suppliers of hard drives ceased shipments to Huawei after the new rule took effect in 2020, the department said. Though they were not identified, Western Digital

    (WDC)     and Toshiba

    (TOSBF)     were the other two, the US Senate Commerce Committee said in a 2021 report on Seagate.

    The companies did not respond to requests for comment.

    Even after “its competitors had stopped selling to them … Seagate continued sending hard disk drives to Huawei,” Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in a statement. “Today’s action is the consequence.”

    Axelrod said the administrative penalty was the largest in the history of the agency not tied to a criminal case.

    Seagate’s position was that its foreign-made drives were not subject to US export control regulations, essentially because they were not the direct product of US equipment.

    “While we believed we complied with all relevant export control laws at the time we made the hard disk drive sales at issue, we determined that … settling this matter was the best course of action,” Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said in a statement.

    In an order issued on Wednesday, the government said Seagate wrongly interpreted the foreign product rule to require evaluation of only the last stage of its manufacturing process rather than the entire process.

    Seagate made drives in China, Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States, the order said, and used equipment, including testing equipment, subject to the rule.

    In August, the US Department of Commerce sent the company a “proposed charging letter,” warning the company that it may have violated export control laws. The letter kicked off some eight months of negotiations.

    Seagate’s $300 million penalty is due in installments of $15 million per quarter over five years, with the first payment due in October. It also agreed to three audits of its compliance program, and is subject to a five-year suspended order denying its export privileges.

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  • This is Google’s new folding phone | CNN Business

    This is Google’s new folding phone | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Just a few days ahead of its product launch, Google unveiled an early look at its first foldable smartphone.

    In a video posted to Twitter and YouTube, the company teased a Pixel phone with a vertical hinge that can be opened to reveal a tablet-like display.

    The company will host its annual developer conference at its Mountain View, California, headquarters next week, where it’s rumored to also introduce a Pixel 7a budget phone, its latest Android operating system and advancements to its AI-powered Bard chatbot.

    Although the company didn’t reveal specs for the Pixel Fold, it’s become increasingly common for companies to show off products leading up to their own events in an effort to drum up excitement and set expectations at a time when it’s difficult to surprise onlookers with something unexpected.

    Despite great interest in foldable phones — and a resurgence in 90s-style flip phones among celebrities and TikTok influencers — the foldable market is relatively small; with Samsung dominating the category, followed by others including Motorola/Lenovo, Oppo, and Huawei. According to ABI Research, foldable and flexible displays made up about 0.7% of the smartphone market in 2021, and in 2022 expected to fall just shy of 2%.

    High price points have limited consumer adoption, too. The Pixel Fold is rumored to start at $1,700.

    It’s not surprising Google is dipping its toes into the world of foldables but it’s possible it waited to launch its own version until the technology became more advanced. Early versions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, for example, had issues with the screen and most apps were not well optimized for the design.

    “Google has been working on bringing better user experiences to foldable devices from a software perspective, so when coupled with improvements on the hardware side the market conditions are at a state now where it makes sense for a Pixel Fold,” said Michael Inouye, an analyst at ABI Research.

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  • Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light’s backlash response was ‘worse than not hiring a trans person at all’ | CNN Business

    Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light’s backlash response was ‘worse than not hiring a trans person at all’ | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Dylan Mulvaney on Thursday broke her silence about the fallout that occurred after the trans influencer made two Instagram posts sponsored by Bud Light earlier this year.

    Bud Light’s sponsorship of an April 1 Instagram post by Mulvaney set off a firestorm of anti-trans backlash and calls for a boycott. Mulvaney herself also faced a wave of hate and violent threats.

    Now, in a video posted to Instagram Thursday, Mulvaney is calling on Bud Light and other companies not only to work with trans and other queer influencers, but to support them through the process, even as trans rights are under fire across the country and corporations face anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns.

    Mulvaney said she has “been scared to leave my house, and I have been ridiculed in public, I have been followed,” and she criticized Bud Light for not standing by her and the partnership. She said the company never reached out to her in the wake of the backlash.

    “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney said. “And the hate doesn’t end with me, it has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community.”

    When the backlash ignited in April, Bud Light first responded with a straightforward explanation of its relationship with social media influencers like Mulvaney. But later it released a vague statement from the CEO that failed to offer support for Mulvaney or the trans community. Bud Light sales dropped in the ensuing weeks, the company lost its top rating from a major LGBTQ+ nonprofit and it placed two marketing executives on leave.

    The controversy over the sponsored posts came as trans rights are under attack. Over 400 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures this year through April 3, according to American Civil Liberties Union, including ones restricting access to gender-affirming care for trans youth. Generally, transgender people are more than four times as likely to be victims of violent crime than cisgender people, according to a study from the UCLA School of Law.

    The Bud Light backlash also coincided with anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns against other big brands, including Target.

    Mulvaney’s statement followed a Wednesday appearance by Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch, on CBS Mornings, in which he repeated the company’s recent statements about wanting to “focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone,” and did not directly answer a question about whether the campaign was a mistake.

    “I think the conversation surrounding Bud Light has moved away from beer, and the conversation has become divisive, and Bud Light really does not belong there, Bud Light should be about bringing people together,” Whitworth said.

    In her video, Mulvaney appeared to address that sentiment, saying, “supporting trans people, it shouldn’t be political.”

    “There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us, and I know it’s possible because I’ve worked with some fantastic companies who care,” Mulvaney said. “But caring about the LGBTQ+ community requires a lot more than just a donation somewhere during Pride month.”

    She added: “We’re customers, too, I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer.”

    In a statement responding to Mulvaney’s video, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told CNN on Thursday that, “we remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers.”

    –CNN’s Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report.

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  • A foldable phone, new tablet and lots of AI: What Google unveiled at its big developer event | CNN Business

    A foldable phone, new tablet and lots of AI: What Google unveiled at its big developer event | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Google on Wednesday unveiled its latest lineup of hardware products, including its first foldable phone and a new tablet, as well as plans to roll out new AI features to its search engine and productivity tools.

    The updates, announced at its annual Google I/O developer conference, come as the company is simultaneously trying to push beyond its core advertising business with new devices while also racing to defend its search engine from the threat posed by a wave of new AI-powered tools.

    In a sign of where Google’s focus currently lies, the company spent more than 90 minutes teasing a long list of new AI features before mentioning hardware updates.

    Here’s what Google announced at the event.

    Google became the latest tech company to unveil a foldable smartphone. Like other foldables, the $1799 Pixel Fold features a vertical hinge that can be opened to reveal a tablet-like display. But Google calls the Fold the thinnest foldable on the market.

    “It took some clever engineering work redesigning components like our speakers, our battery and haptics,” said George Hwang, a product manager at Google, on a call ahead of the announcement. The company packed a Pixel phone into a less than 6 mm body – about two thirds of the thickness of its other Pixel phones.

    The Pixel Fold is very much a phone first: when it’s unfolded, it opens up into a 7.6-inch screen, and moves on Google’s custom-built 180-degree hinge. That hinge mechanism is moved out entirely from under the display to improve its dust resistance and decrease the device’s overall thickness, according to the company.

    The Google Fold includes features you’d find on a Pixel, such as long exposure, unblur, magic eraser, which lets users remove unwanted or distracting object. It also has Pixel Fold-specific tools such as dual-screen live translate, which lets a user communicate in another language with the help of fast audio and text translations on the outer screen.

    Google said it optimized its top apps to take advantage of the larger screen but “there’s still work to be done” because “optimizing for a new foldable form factor takes time,” Hwang said. “It’s a process that we’re committed to and it requires steep investment with our developer partners across Android,” Hwang added.

    Google is far from the first to embrace foldables, but it’s possible it waited to launch its own version until the technology became more advanced. Early versions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, for example, had issues with the screen and most apps were not well optimized for the design.

    But even now, the future for foldables remains uncertain. Most apps are still not optimized for foldable devices; prices remain very high; and Google’s chief rival, Apple, has yet to embrace the option.

    Despite great consumer interest in foldable phones — and a resurgence in 90s-style flip phones among celebrities and TikTok influencers — the foldable market is relatively small, with Samsung dominating the category, followed by others including Motorola, Lenovo, Oppo, and Huawei. According to ABI Research, foldable and flexible displays made up about 0.7% of the smartphone market in 2021, and in 2022 expected to fall just shy of 2%.

    The Pixel Fold will be available in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. The company said the device will start shipping next month.

    A look at the Google's Pixel 7a lineup

    On the surface, the 7a looks similar to the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, with the same pixel camera bar along the back. It comes with the typical advancements you’d expect to find with any smartphone upgrade – better display, advanced camera and longer-lasting battery. But the 7a now boasts a Tensor G2 processor and a TItan M2 security chip, which brings advanced processing and new artificial intelligence features. It also offers wireless charging for the first time on an A model.

    The Pixel lineup has long been known for its cameras, and the 7a is no exception. It’s packed with upgrades, including a 64-megapixel main camera – the largest sensor on a Pixel A series to date, which will help with improved image quality, low light performance and other features. It also offers a new 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera for capturing even wider shots and a new 13-megapixel front camera. For the first time, each camera enables 4K video.

    The 7a also supports many significant Pixel features, including unblur, magic eraser and an improved Night Sight that’s two times faster and sharper than its predecessor. It also allows users to capture long exposure and enhanced zoom.

    The Pixel comes in several colors, including charcoal, snow, sea and coral, and starts at $499 via the Google Store on May 10.

    The Pixel Series A line has long been aimed at the cost conscious who want good features at a reasonable price, but its reach is limited. Google sells between eight to 10 million of the Pixel devices each year, according to ABI Research.

    “Generally, the smartphones were really meant for Google to showcase how software, and now AI capabilities, could be effectively optimized on hardware and improve the Android user experience,” said David McQueen, an analyst at ABI Research. “Google has purposely kept volume sales limited as it also has to be mindful of its relationship with other smartphone manufacturers that use the Android OS.”

    The Google Pixel tablet

    While phones were a key focus at the event, Google also refreshed other parts of its hardware lineup.

    Google introduced the Pixel Tablet, which is intended for use around the house, from turning off the lights off in the house to setting the thermostat without getting off the couch.

    The tablet, which has rounded edges and corners, comes in three colors: porcelain, hazel and rose, and starts at $499. It will be available on June 20.

    Under the hood, the 11-inch tablet is powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chips, which bring long-lasting battery life and AI features to the device. It also offers a front-facing camera, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a charging dock.

    Google is also moving forward with plans to bring AI chat features to its core search engine amid a renewed arms race over the technology in Silicon Valley.

    The company said it is introducing the next evolution of Google Search, which will use an AI-powered chatbot to answer questions “you never thought Search could answer” and to help get users the information they want quicker than ever.

    With the update, the look and feel of Google Search results will be noticeably different. When users type a query into the main search bar, they will automatically see a pop-up an AI-generated response in addition to displaying traditional results.

    Users can now sign up for the new Google Search, which will first launch in the United States, via the Google app or Chrome’s desktop browser. A limited number of users will have access to it in the weeks ahead, according to the company, before it scales upward.

    Google is expanding access to its existing chatbot Bard, which operates outside the search engine and can help users do tasks such as outline and write essay drafts, plan a friend’s baby shower, and get lunch ideas based on what’s in the fridge.

    The tool, which was previously available to early users via a waitlist only in the US, will soon be available for all users in 120 countries and 40 languages.

    Google is also launching extensions for Bard from its own services, such as Gmail, Sheets and Docs, allowing users to ask questions and collaborate with the chatbot within the apps they’re using.

    Google also announced PaLM 2, its latest large language model to rival ChatGPT-creator OpenAI’s GPT-4.

    The move marks a big step forward for the technology that powers the company’s AI products and promises to be better at logic, common sense reasoning and mathematics. It can also generate specialized code in different programming languages.

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  • This could be Apple’s biggest product launch since the Apple Watch | CNN Business

    This could be Apple’s biggest product launch since the Apple Watch | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Apple may be just one day away from unveiling its most ambitious new hardware product in years.

    At its Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off Monday at its Cupertino, California, campus, Apple

    (AAPL)     is widely expected to introduce a “mixed reality” headset that offers both virtual reality and augmented reality, a technology that overlays virtual images on live video of the real world.

    The highly anticipated release of an AR/VR headset would be Apple’s biggest hardware product launch since the debut of the Apple Watch in 2015. It could signal a new era for the company and potentially revolutionize how millions interact with computers and the world around them.

    But the headset is just one of many announcements expected at the developers event. Apple will also show off a long list of software updates that will shape how people use its most popular devices, including the iPhone and Apple Watch.

    Apple may also tease how it plans to incorporate AI into more of its products and services, and keep pace with a renewed arms race over the technology in Silicon Valley.

    The event will be livestreamed on Apple’s website and YouTube. It is set to start at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET.

    Here’s a closer look at what to expect:

    For years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed interest in augmented reality. Now Apple finally appears ready to show off what it’s been working on.

    According to Bloomberg, the new headset, which could be called Reality One or Reality Pro, will have an iOS-like interface, display immersive video and include cameras and sensors to allow users to control it via their hands, eye movements and with Siri. The device is also rumored to have an outward-facing display that will show eye movements and facial expressions, allowing onlookers to interact with the person wearing the headset without feeling as though they’re talking to a robot.

    Apple’s new headset is expected to pack apps for gaming, fitness and meditation, and offer access to iOS apps such as Messages, FaceTime and Safari, according to Bloomberg. With the FaceTime option, for example, the headset will “render a user’s face and full body in virtual reality,” to create the feeling that both are “in the same room.”

    The decision to unveil it at WWDC suggests Apple wants to encourage developers to build apps and experiences for the product in order to make it more compelling for customers and worth the hefty price tag.

    The company is reportedly considering a $3,000 price tag for the device, far more than most of its products and testing potential buyers at a time of lingering uncertainty in the global economy. Other tech companies have struggled to find mainstream traction for headsets. And in the years that Apple has been rumored to be working on the product, the tech community has shifted its focus from VR to another buzzy technology: artificial intelligence.

    But if any company can prove skeptics wrong, it’s Apple. The company’s entry into the market combined with its vast customer base has the potential to breathe new life into the world of headsets.

    A mixed reality headset may not be the only piece of hardware to get stage time this year.

    Apple is expected to launch a new 15-inch MacBook Air packing the company’s M2 processor. The current size of the MacBook Air is 13 inches.

    Previously, users who wanted a larger-sized Apple laptop would need to buy a higher-end MacBook Pro.

    Considering WWDC is traditionally a software event, Apple executives will likely spend much of the time highlighting the changes and upgrades coming to its next-generation mobile operating systems, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

    While last year’s updates included a major design overhaul of the lock screen and iMessage, only minor changes are expected this year.

    With iOS 17, Apple is expected to double down on its efforts around health tracking by adding the ability to monitor everything from a user’s mood to keeping tabs on how their vision may change over time. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple will also launch a journaling app not only as a way for users to log their thoughts but also activity levels, which can then be analyzed to reveal how much time someone spends at home or out of the house.

    The new iOS 17 is also said to get a lock screen refresh: When positioned in horizontal mode, the display will highlight widgets tied to the calendar, weather and other apps, serving as a digital hub. (iPadOS 17 is also expected to get some of the same lock screen capabilities and health features.)

    Other anticipated upgrades include an Apple Watch OS update that would focus on quick glances at widgets, and more details about its next-generation CarPlay platform, which it initially teased last year.

    While much of the focus of the event may be on VR, Apple may also attempt to show how it’s keeping pace with Silicon Valley’s current obsession: artificial intelligence.

    Apple reportedly plans to preview an AI-powered digital coaching service, which will encourage people to exercise and improve their sleeping and eating habits. It’s unclear how it could work, but the effort comes at a time when Big Tech companies are racing to introduce AI-powered technologies in the wake of ChatGPT’s viral success.

    Apple may also demo and expand on some of its recently teased accessibility tools for the iPhone and iPad, including a feature that promises to replicate a user’s voice for phone calls after only 15 minutes of training.

    Most of the other Big Tech companies have recently outlined their AI strategies. This event may be Apple’s chance to do the same.

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  • How your phone learned to see in the dark | CNN Business

    How your phone learned to see in the dark | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Open up Instagram at any given moment and it probably won’t take long to find crisp pictures of the night sky, a skyline after dark or a dimly lit restaurant. While shots like these used to require advanced cameras, they’re now often possible from the phone you already carry around in your pocket.

    Tech companies such as Apple, Samsung and Google are investing resources to improve their night photography options at a time when camera features have increasingly become a key selling point for smartphones that otherwise largely all look and feel the same from one year to the next.

    Earlier this month, Google brought a faster version of its Night Sight mode, which uses AI algorithms to lighten or brighten images in dark environments, to more of its Pixel models. Apple’s Night mode, which is available on models as far back as the iPhone 11, was touted as a premier feature on its iPhone 14 lineup last year thanks to its improved camera system.

    These tools have come a long way in just the past few years, thanks to significant advancements in artificial intelligence technology as well as image processing that has become sharper, quicker, and more resilient to challenging photography situations. And smartphone makers aren’t done yet.

    “People increasingly rely on their smartphones to take photos, record videos, and create content,” said Lian Jye Su, an artificial intelligence analyst at ABI Research. “[This] will only fuel the smartphone companies to up their games in AI-enhanced image and video processing.”

    While there has been much focus lately on Silicon Valley’s renewed AI arms race over chatbots, the push to develop more sophisticated AI tools could also help further improve night photography and bring our smartphones closer to being able to see in the dark.

    Samsung’s Night mode feature, which is available on various Galaxy models but optimized for its premium S23 Ultra smartphone, promises to do what would have seemed unthinkable just five to 10 years ago: enable phones to take clearer pictures with little light.

    The feature is designed to minimize what’s called “noise,” a term in photography that typically refers to poor lighting conditions, long exposure times, and other elements that can take away from the quality of an image.

    The secret to reducing noise, according to the company, is a combination of the S23 Ultra’s adaptive 200M pixel sensor. After the shutter button is pressed, Samsung uses advanced multi-frame processing to combine multiple images into a single picture and AI to automatically adjust the photo as necessary.

    “When a user takes a photo in low or dark lighting conditions, the processor helps remove noise through multi-frame processing,” said Joshua Cho, executive vice president of Samsung’s Visual Solution Team. “Instantaneously, the Galaxy S23 Ultra detects the detail that should be kept, and the noise that should be removed.”

    For Samsung and other tech companies, AI algorithms are crucial to delivering photos taken in the dark. “The AI training process is based on a large number of images tuned and annotated by experts, and AI learns the parameters to adjust for every photo taken in low-light situations,” Su explained.

    For example, algorithms identify the right level of exposure, determine the correct color pallet and gradient under certain lighting conditions, sharpen blurred faces or objects artificially, and then makes those changes. The final result, however, can look quite different from what the person taking the picture saw in real time, in what some might argue is a technical sleight-of-hand trick.

    Lights illuminate the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, in this photo taken using Google Pixel 5 Night Sight setting.

    Google is also focused on reducing noise in photography. Its AI-powered Night Sight feature captures a burst of longer-exposure frames. It then uses something called HDR+ Bracketing, which creates several photos with different settings. After a picture is taken, the images are combined together to create “sharper photos” even in dark environments “that are still incredibly bright and detailed,” said Alex Schiffhauer, a group product manager at Google.

    While effective, there can be a slight but noticeable delay before the image is ready. But Schiffhauer said Google intends to speed up this process more on future Pixel iterations. “We’d love a world in which customers can get the quality of Night Sight without needing to hold still for a few seconds,” Schiffhauer said.

    Google also has an astrophotography feature which allows people to take shots of the night sky without needing to tweak the exposure or other settings. The algorithms detect details in the sky and enhances them to stand out, according to the company.

    Apple has long been rumored to be working on an astrophotography feature, but some iPhone 14 Pro Max users have successfully been able to capture pictures of the sky through its existing Night Mode tool. When a device detects a low-light environment, Night mode turns on to capture details and brighten shots. (The company did not respond to a request to elaborate on how the algorithms work.)

    AI can make a difference in the image, but the end results for each of these features also depend on the phone’s lenses, said Gartner analyst Bill Ray. A traditional camera will have the lens several centimeters from the sensor, but the limited space on a phone often requires squeezing things together, which can result in a more shallow depth of field and reduced image quality, especially in darker environments.

    “The quality of the lens is still a big deal, and how the phone addresses the lack of depth,” Ray said.

    While night photography on phones has come a long way, a buzzy new technology could push it ahead even more.

    Generative AI, the technology that powers the viral chatbot ChatGPT, has earned plenty of attention for its ability to create compelling essays and images in response to user prompts. But these AI systems, which are trained on vast troves of online data, also have potential to edit and process images.

    “In recent years, generative AI models have also been used in photo-editing functions like background removal or replacement,” Su said. If this technology is added to smartphone photo systems, it could eventually make night modes even more powerful, Su said.

    Big Tech companies, including Google, are already fully embracing this technology in other parts of their business. Meanwhile, smartphone chipset vendors like Qualcomm and MediaTek are looking to support more generative AI applications natively on consumer devices, Su said. These include image and video augmentation.

    “But this is still about two to three years away from limited versions of this showing up on smartphones,” he said.

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  • Apple commits to investing across India as Tim Cook opens second store | CNN Business

    Apple commits to investing across India as Tim Cook opens second store | CNN Business

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    New Delhi
    CNN
     — 

    Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, pledging to invest further in the fast-growing economy as his company ramps up retail and manufacturing activities.

    The visit underscores how the world’s most valuable company is continuing to pivot to India, eyeing its potential as both a consumer market and production hub. India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by the middle of this year, according to data released by the United Nations.

    “From education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we’re committed to growing and investing across the country,” Cook wrote on Twitter following the meeting.

    Modi said on Twitter that the two had exchanged views on a range of topics, including “the tech-powered transformations taking place in India.”

    Apple

    (AAPL)    ’s CEO is in India this week to open its first physical stores in the country, marking a milestone for the iPhone maker in the world’s second largest smartphone market after China.

    Cook presided over the company’s second store opening in the capital of New Delhi on Thursday, after launching Apple’s first outlet in Mumbai earlier this week, greeting customers and taking selfies with employees.

    Cook also met other officials including IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who tweeted afterward that the pair had “discussed deepening Apple’s engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports, [the] app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation especially for women.”

    Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s deputy minister for information technology, said he was optimistic about how much Apple could expand its footprint in the country.

    “I am very confident that this Apple-India partnership has a lot of headroom for investments, growth, exports and jobs — doubling and tripling over coming years,” he told Reuters.

    Apple declined to comment, while India’s IT ministry did not immediately respond to a request for details.

    Apple’s expansion in India coincides with its 25th year of operating in the country.

    The California-based giant is the world’s second biggest smartphone maker behind Samsung

    (SSNLF)    , but its 6% share of the Indian market remains small.

    Apple, which is considered too expensive by many consumers in the country, is dwarfed by India’s top five mobile vendors, led by Samsung and Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Vivo.

    The US firm’s share is expected to grow, however, as it continues to build out its retail presence in the country and more customers turn to high-end smartphones.

    Apple has also been ramping up its manufacturing in India, where it first began making iPhones in 2017.

    In recent months, it has expanded production there after suffering supply chain snags in mainland China, which accounts for the bulk of its smartphone manufacturing.

    Two of Apple’s top suppliers, Foxconn and Wistron, were the fastest-growing manufacturers in India during the last quarter of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research.

    Last month, Foxconn CEO Young Liu also spent a week in the country and met with Modi.

    In a statement this week, Apple said it was working with suppliers to “produce a growing number of components.”

    The company’s “work with Indian suppliers of all sizes supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country,” it added.

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  • I tried Apple’s new headset. Here’s what it’s like to use | CNN Business

    I tried Apple’s new headset. Here’s what it’s like to use | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    It’s rare to find a new technology that feels groundbreaking. But last night, while sitting on a couch in a private demo room at Apple’s campus wearing its newly announced Vision Pro mixed reality headset, it felt like I’d seen the future — or at least an early and very pricey prototype of it.

    In the demo, which lasted 30 minutes, a virtual butterfly landed on my finger; a dinosaur with detailed scales tried to bite me; and I stood inches away from Alicia Keys’ piano as she serenaded me in a recording studio. When a small bear cub swam by me on a quiet lake during another immersive video, it felt so real that it reminded me of an experience with a loved one who recently passed away. I couldn’t wipe the tears inside my headset.

    Apple unveiled the headset, its most ambitious and riskiest new hardware offering in years, at a developer event earlier in the day. The headset blends both virtual reality and augmented reality, a technology that overlays virtual images on live video of the real world. At the event, Apple CEO Tim Cook touted the Vision Pro as a “revolutionary product,” with the potential to change how users interact with technology, each other and the world around them. He called it “the first product you look through, not at.”

    But it’s clearly a work in progress. The apps and experiences remain limited; users must stay tethered to a battery pack the size of an iPhone with just two hours of battery life; and the first minutes using the device can be off-putting. Apple also plans to charge $3,499 for the device when it goes on sale early next year – more than had been rumored and far more than other headsets on the market that have previously struggled to gain wide adoption.

    With its loyal following and impressive track record on hardware, Apple may be able to convince developers, early adopters and some enterprise customers to pay up for the device. But if it wants to attract a more mainstream audience, it will need a “killer app,” as the industry often refers to it -— or several.

    Based on my demo, Apple still has a long way to go, but it’s off to a compelling start.

    Hours after the keynote event, I arrived at a building on Apple’s sprawling Cupertino, California, campus specifically constructed to stage demos and briefings for the new headset.

    I was met by an Apple employee who scanned my face to help customize the fit of the headset. Then I entered a small room where an optometrist asked if I wore glasses or corrective lenses. I had gotten Lasik surgery years ago, but others around me had their glasses scanned so the headset could present their specific prescription. It’s an incredible feat that differentiates Apple from competitors and ensures no frames need to be squeezed into the headset. But it’s unclear how the company plans to handle this process at scale if millions buy the device.

    The initial setup process was somewhat unpleasant: I felt a little nauseous and claustrophobic as I adjusted to the device. It tracked my eyes, scanned my hands and mapped the room to better tailor the augmented reality experience.

    But Apple has also taken steps to reduce the motion sickness problem that has plagued other headsets. The headset uses an R1 processor, a custom chip that cuts down on the latency issue found in similar products that can result in nausea.

    As many viewers were quick to point out on Monday, the headset itself looks like a pair of designer ski goggles. It features a soft adjustable strap on the top, a “digital crown” on the back – a bigger version than what you’d find on an Apple Watch – and another digital crown on the top that serves as a kind of home button. There’s also a wire connecting to an external battery pack.

    The headset itself felt light enough in the beginning, but even with Apple’s considerable design chops, I never shook the idea that there was a computer on my face. Fortunately, unlike other computing products, the headset did remain cool on my face throughout the experience, thanks largely to a quiet fan and airflow running through the system

    Unlike other headsets, the new mixed reality headset also displays the eyes of its users on the outside, so “you’re never isolated from the people around you, you can see them and they can see you,” Alan Dye, vice president of human interface, said during the keynote.

    Sadly, I never got to see how my own eyes or anyone else’s looked through the headset during the demo.

    After putting on the device, I saw an iOS-like interface. I could easily hop in and out of apps, such as Messages, FaceTime, Safari and Photos, using just my eye movements and touching my thumb and pointer finger together to act as the “select” button. This was more intuitive than expected and worked even when my hands rested on my lap.

    Some app experiences were better than others, however. It was beautiful to see images in the Photos app presented before me in a larger than life manner, but it’s hard to imagine feeling the need to do this often on a couch back home. Vision Pro also offers a spatial photo option, which lets users view images and videos in 3D so you feel like you’re directly in the scene. Again, cool but unnecessary.

    During another demo, an Apple employee wearing a Vision Pro headset FaceTimed me from the other side of campus. Her “persona” – a digital representation which did not show her wearing the Vision Pro – appeared in front of me as we chatted about the event earlier in the day. She seemed real but it was clear she was not; she was a sort of pseudo-human. (Apple did not scan my face to create my own persona, which would otherwise be done through its OpticID security feature during the setup phase.)

    The Apple employee then shared a virtual whiteboard – dragging, dropping and highlighting interior design images. Cook has focused on AR’s potential to foster collaboration, and it’s clear how this tool could be used in meetings to fulfill that promise. What’s less clear is why most employers would spend $3,499 per device per employee to make this happen rather than simply use Zoom.

    Like so much else about the product unveiling, this pitch felt mistimed. Earlier in the pandemic, more people might have jumped at the chance to create these virtual experiences while we worked and socialized almost entirely from home. Now, with more employees back in the office and companies looking to cut costs amid broader economic uncertainty, the justification for this pricey device seemed less clear.

    The real magic of the Vision Pro, however, is in the immersive videos. Watching an underwater scene from Avatar 2 in 3D, for example, was surreal, seemingly placing me right in the ocean with these fictional creatures. It’s easy to imagine buy-in from Hollywood filmmakers to create experiences just for the headset.

    Apple is also uniquely positioned here to supercharge the device with these experiences. It has close relationships in the entertainment industry, including with former Apple board member and Disney CEO Bob Iger, who announced in a pre-recorded video during the event that Disney+ will be available on the headset at launch. Apple teased new National Geographic, Marvel and ESPN experiences for the headset, too.

    Almost every new Apple product, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch, promises to use screens of varying sizes to change how we live, work and interact with the world. The Vision Pro has the potential to do all of that in an even more striking way. But unlike the first time I picked up an iPhone or a smartatch, after 30 minutes of using Vision Pro, I was very content to put it down and return to the real world.

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  • End of an era: Netflix DVD subscribers mourn the service’s imminent demise | CNN Business

    End of an era: Netflix DVD subscribers mourn the service’s imminent demise | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    When Colin McEvoy, a father of two from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and a self-described film fanatic, wants to watch a Bollywood film or an obscure independent movie, he often turns to Netflix – but not its popular streaming service.

    McEvoy, 39, said he’s been using Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service since 2001, just three years after it launched.

    “I remember I was in high school when I first signed up for it, and the concept was so novel, I had to really convince my dad that it was a legit service and not some sort of Internet scam,” said McEvoy, who uses an old Xbox 360 to play his Netflix DVDs. “Now I have friends who’ve seen my red Netflix envelopes arrive in the mail, and either didn’t remember what they were or couldn’t believe that I still got the DVDs in the mail.”

    Now, McEvoy is one of the DVD-by-mail holdouts mourning the service’s imminent demise. On Tuesday, Netflix announced it will send out its final red envelope on September 29, 2023. marking an end to 25 years of mailing DVDs to members. The company will continue to accept returns of customers’ remaining DVDs until October 27.

    “I’ll be sad to see the service go,” McEvoy said.

    Introduced in 1998 when Netflix first launched, the service promised an easier rental experience than having to drive to the nearest Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. The red envelopes, which have long been synonymous with Netflix itself, littered homes and dorm rooms across the country. But in 2007, Netflix began streaming content online, and gradually shifted the focus away from its original DVD business.

    Today, the idea of receiving a DVD in the mail may sound almost as outdated as receiving a dial up CD, but some longtime customers told CNN they continued to find value in the DVD option, including for its selection, pricing and added perks.

    Brandon Cordy, a 41-year-old graphic designer from Atlanta, said he stuck with DVDs because many digital rentals don’t come with special features or audio commentaries.

    There are other factors, too. Michael Inouye, an analyst at ABI Research, said some consumers may still not have access to reliable or fast enough broadband connections, or simply prefer physical media to digital, much in the way that some audio enthusiasts still purchase and collect CDs and records. Other households may also own cars that still have DVD players inside.

    For Netflix, however, the offering has made less sense in recent years. “Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members, but as the DVD business continues to shrink, that’s going to become increasingly difficult,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post this week.

    Shutting down its DVD business could help Netflix better focus resources as it expands into new markets such as gaming as well as live and interactive content. Its DVD business has also declined significantly in recent years. In 2021, Netflix’s non-streaming revenue – mostly attributable to DVDs – amounted to 0.6% of its revenue, or just over $182 million.

    The cost to operate its DVD business may also be a factor, especially as Netflix rethinks expenses broadly amid heightened streaming competition and broader economic uncertainty. “Moving plastic discs around costs far more money than streaming digital bits,” said Eric Schmitt, senior director analyst at Gartner Research. “Removing and replacing damaged and lost inventory are also cost considerations.”

    Even before Netflix announced the news this week, some longtime subscribers said they could see the writing on the wall.

    “The inventory of available titles, while still vast, had been contracting some over the years with some movies that were once available no longer being so,” Cordy said. “Turnaround times to get a new movie or movies also started to take longer, so I knew it was only a matter of time. But I didn’t want it to end if I could help it.”

    Other DVD subscribers are hoping there may still be a happy ending.

    On Wednesday, Bill Rouhana, the CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment – which owns DVD rental service Redbox – told The Hollywood Reporter he hopes to purchase Netflix’s DVD business. “I’d like to buy it… I wish Netflix would sell me that business instead of shutting it down,” he said. Redbox remains popular despite the shift in streaming, but took a hit during the pandemic because of the lack of new movies and TV shows to fill the boxes.

    A Netflix spokesperson told CNN it has no plans to sell the DVD business and declined to share how it plans to dispose of the discs. But Nick Maggio, a 43-year-old elementary school teacher from Valley Stream, New York, said he hopes the company will sell their individual titles library. “I know there are several titles I’d like to get my hands on,” he said.

    For now, at least, some DVD subscribers plan to focus on watching as many DVDs as they can before the service goes away.

    McEvoy, who also subscribes to Disney+, Hulu, the Criterion channel and Mubi, said he’s determined to finish seeing every film listed in the book “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die” with the help of Netflix.

    “I absolutely would not have been able to find all of those movies if not for the Netflix DVD service,” he said. “I only have four movies left to go.”

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  • Japan joins the US and Europe in chipmaking curbs on China | CNN Business

    Japan joins the US and Europe in chipmaking curbs on China | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong/Tokyo
    CNN
     — 

    Japan will restrict the overseas sale of chip manufacturing equipment, joining the United States and the Netherlands in curbing the export of key technology to China.

    The country announced Friday it would tighten exports of 23 types of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

    The rules will take effect in July, according to Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, Yasutoshi Nishimura.

    The ministry said it would require stricter procedures to export to about 160 destinations such as China, while 42 territories — including the United States, South Korea and Taiwan — are recognized by Japan as having adequate export controls in place.

    All exports to countries not formally recognized will now require approval from the Japanese trade ministry, it added.

    At a press conference, Nishimura said the new measures were aimed at preventing the equipment from being diverted for military use.

    “We will fulfill our responsibilities in the international community as a technology-owning country and contribute to maintaining international peace and security,” he told reporters.

    The restrictions are not aimed at a specific country, the trade ministry told CNN on Friday.

    But they follow a series of curbs enacted in recent months to clamp down on sales of chipmaking equipment to China as part of a coordinated international effort led by Washington.

    In October, the United States banned Chinese companies from buying advanced chips and chipmaking equipment without a license. It also restricted the ability of American citizens to provide support for the development or production of chips at certain facilities in China.

    Earlier this month, the Netherlands also unveiled new restrictions on overseas sales of semiconductor technology, citing the need to protect national security.

    Japan has been involved in three-way discussions with both countries, a source familiar with the talks previously told CNN.

    China has strongly criticized restrictions on tech exports, saying earlier this month that it “firmly opposes” such measures.

    Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, also hit back at the latest move from Japan.

    “Weaponizing economic, trade and technology issues to deliberately destabilize the global industry chain will only harm others and harm oneself,” she said at a Friday news briefing.

    Japan is home to several chipmaking equipment producers, including Nikon

    (NINOY)     and Tokyo Electron. The companies’ shares in Tokyo were little changed on Friday.

    Nikon and Tokyo Electron declined to comment.

    In recent reports to clients, Jefferies analysts had assessed the potential consequences of Japanese export controls to China, noting that Nikon did “not anticipate a major impact.”

    For Tokyo Electron, the tightening is also “unlikely to have much additional impact as long as they do not go further than the US sanctions,” they added.

    — Mengchen Zhang contributed to this report.

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  • Samsung to cut chip production after posting lowest profit in 14 years | CNN Business

    Samsung to cut chip production after posting lowest profit in 14 years | CNN Business

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    Seoul
    Reuters
     — 

    Samsung Electronics said on Friday it would make a “meaningful” cut to chip production after flagging a worse-than-expected 96% plunge in quarterly operating profit, as a sharp downturn in the global semiconductor market worsens.

    Shares in the world’s largest memory chip and TV maker rose 3% in early trading, while rival SK Hynix shares surged 5% as investors welcomed plans to cut production to help preserve pricing power.

    Samsung

    (SSNLF)     estimated its operating profit fell to 600 billion won ($455.5 million) in January-March, from 14.12 trillion won a year earlier, in a short preliminary earnings statement. It was the lowest profit for any quarter in 14 years.

    “Memory demand dropped sharply … due to the macroeconomic situation and slowing customer purchasing sentiment, as many customers continue to adjust their inventories for financial purposes,” it said in the statement.

    “We are lowering the production of memory chips by a meaningful level, especially that of products with supply secured,” it added, in a reference to those with sufficient inventories.

    The production cut signal is unusually strong for Samsung, which previously said it would make small adjustments like pauses for refurbishing production lines but not a full-blown cut.

    It did not disclose the size of the planned cut.

    The first-quarter profit fell short of a 873 billion won Refinitiv SmartEstimate, weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. Multiple estimates were revised down earlier this week.

    It was the lowest since a 590 billion won profit in the first quarter of 2009, according to company data.

    With consumer demand for tech devices sluggish due to rising inflation, semiconductor buyers including data center operators and smartphone and personal computer makers are refraining from new chip purchases and using up inventories.

    Analysts estimated the chip division sustained quarterly losses of more than 4 trillion won ($3.03 billion) as memory chip prices fell and its inventory values were slashed.

    This would be the chip business’ first quarterly loss since the first quarter of 2009, a major divergence for what is normally a cash cow that generates about half of Samsung’s profits in better years.

    Revenue likely fell 19% from the same period a year earlier to 63 trillion won, Samsung said.

    The company is due to release detailed earnings, including divisional breakdowns, later this month.

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  • Microsoft to pay $20 million to settle Xbox Live privacy allegations | CNN Business

    Microsoft to pay $20 million to settle Xbox Live privacy allegations | CNN Business

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    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    Microsoft will pay $20 million to settle US government allegations that the tech giant violated children’s privacy by illegally collecting their personal information through its Xbox Live gaming service.

    According to the Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft broke the law by failing to tell parents about the full breadth of information it gathered from kids under the age of 13.

    That information, the FTC said in a lawsuit filed Monday, included the fact that children may share images of themselves in their account profiles, as well as video and audio recordings of themselves, their real names and logs of their activity on the platform.

    Microsoft also allegedly kept for years the personal information of millions of people, including children, who started creating accounts with Xbox Live but who never completed the sign-up process.

    “Even when a user indicated that they were under 13, they were also asked, until late 2021, to provide additional personal information including a phone number and to agree to Microsoft’s service agreement and advertising policy, which until 2019 included a pre-checked box allowing Microsoft to send promotional messages and to share user data with advertisers,” the FTC said in a release.

    In a statement, Microsoft said: “We recently entered into a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to update our account creation process and resolve a data retention glitch found in our system. We are committed to complying with the order.”

    Parental settings give adults some control over what their children’s accounts show to other users. For example, Xbox Live’s default settings restrict who children can interact with on the service, the FTC said. But other default settings, the agency alleged, allow kids to access third-party games and apps with minimal friction.

    Microsoft failed to sufficiently disclose to parents what information the company was collecting from kids and how it was being used, the FTC said, alleging violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

    In agreeing to settle the claims, Microsoft committed to several additional measures beyond the financial penalty.

    Microsoft agreed to delete any personal information it collects from kids if they don’t complete the account registration process. It also agreed to tell third-party game publishers when a user may be a child, effectively putting the third-party publishers on notice to comply with COPPA in handling the user’s information.

    The settlement comes as the FTC has challenged Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game giant Activision-Blizzard, a proposed deal that would turn Microsoft into the world’s third-largest game publisher and give it control over popular franchises such as “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft.”

    US and UK officials have alleged that Microsoft’s acquisition could give it anti-competitive control over the games industry by being able to withhold titles from rival platforms, particularly in the nascent cloud gaming sector. To address the concerns, Microsoft has struck licensing deals with other companies to ensure their customers continue to have access to Activision games following the deal’s close.

    Those concessions have convinced the European Union to approve the deal, but litigation to block the deal involving US and UK regulators remains ongoing.

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  • Apple’s Weather app briefly went down and rained on everyone’s morning | CNN Business

    Apple’s Weather app briefly went down and rained on everyone’s morning | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Anyone using their iPhone to check the weather on Tuesday may have had better luck just looking out the window.

    Apple’s default Weather app briefly went down for many users on Tuesday morning, showing blank screens with no data. The result: many users felt clueless about what was happening outside.

    “The Apple Weather app has been down all morning and I never imagined how much disruption that would cause,” wrote one Twitter user. Another tweeted an apparent “Top Gun” reference: “Biggest storm of the season is about to hit Fargo and the Apple weather app is down. I’m flying blind, Goose.”

    There are numerous other sources one could use to determine the weather, including various apps, websites, local news reports and, of course, one’s own eyes. But the apparent disruption from the outage highlights how reliant some have grown on certain popular applications.

    Apple confirmed the outage in a Twitter reply to a frustrated user, noting that some app users may be experiencing a “temporary outage.” The company’s

    System Status page     also flagged the Weather app as facing an ongoing issue.

    Apple did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

    One CNN reporter saw only a handful of cities on the Weather app home screen load with full data, while most cities remained completely blank. The app usually displays information including hourly forecast, 10-day forecast, air quality index, precipitation, UV index and more.

    The app was revamped as part of the iOS 16 release in September after Apple bought popular weather service Dark Sky in 2020 and fully integrated its features into the newest operating system.

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  • UK blocks Microsoft takeover of Activision Blizzard | CNN Business

    UK blocks Microsoft takeover of Activision Blizzard | CNN Business

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    London
    CNN
     — 

    The UK antitrust regulator has blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, thwarting one of the tech industry’s biggest deals over concerns it will stifle competition in cloud gaming.

    The Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement Wednesday that it was worried the deal would lead to “reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the years to come.”

    The acquisition would make Microsoft

    (MSFT)     “even stronger” in cloud gaming, a market in which it already holds a 60%-70% share globally, the regulator added.

    Activision Blizzard is one of the world’s biggest video game developers, producing games such as “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft,” “Diablo” and “Overwatch.” Microsoft, which sells the Xbox gaming console, offers a video game subscription service called Xbox Game Pass, as well as a cloud-based video game streaming service.

    The deal to combine the businesses has been met with growing opposition by antitrust regulators worldwide. In December, the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block the takeover over similar competition concerns. A hearing is scheduled for August. The European Union is also evaluating the transaction

    Microsoft could seek to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own platforms and then increase the cost of a Game Pass subscription, the Competition and Markets Authority said.

    “The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play. Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities,” it added.

    “The evidence available… indicates that, absent the merger, Activision would start providing games via cloud platforms in the foreseeable future.”

    Both companies plan to appeal the decision. “Alongside Microsoft, we can and will contest this decision, and we’ve already begun the work to appeal to the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement.

    Microsoft President Brad Smith added: “This decision appears to reflect a flawed understanding of the market and the way the relevant cloud technology actually works.”

    The Competition and Markets Authority, which launched an in-depth review of the blockbuster deal in September, said Microsoft’s proposed remedies to its concerns had “significant shortcomings.”

    “Their proposals… would have replaced competition with ineffective regulation in a new and dynamic market,” explained Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel of experts conducting the investigation.

    “Microsoft already enjoys a powerful position and head start over other competitors in cloud gaming, and this deal would strengthen that advantage, giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors,” Coleman continued. “Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice.”

    The UK cloud gaming market is expected to be worth up to £1 billion ($1.2 billion) by 2026, around 9% of the global market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority.

    -— Josh du Lac and Brian Fung contributed reporting.

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  • Apple got rich in China. Other Asian markets offer the next ‘golden opportunity’ | CNN Business

    Apple got rich in China. Other Asian markets offer the next ‘golden opportunity’ | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Apple launched an online store in Vietnam this week, in another nod to the growing importance of emerging markets for the iPhone maker.

    The opening on Thursday, which followed the high-profile launch of its first physical shops in India, means consumers in the fast-growing Southeast Asian economy will be able to buy any Apple product directly for the first time.

    Markets like Vietnam, India and Indonesia are becoming more important for Apple as its growth in developed markets, including China, slows down, prompting the company to focus on places where it’s traditionally been less active.

    For decades, China was central to Apple’s extraordinary ascent to become the most valuable company on Earth, serving as a backbone for both its production and consumption. While the country remains key to Apple’s operations, the tech giant is now hedging its bets.

    Apple

    (AAPL)     CEO Tim Cook has pointed to the company’s prospects in emerging economies, calling them bright spots in the company’s financial results. On an earnings call this month, Cook said he was “particularly pleased” with the performance in these markets during the first three months of the year.

    Apple “achieved all-time records in Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE, as well as a number of March quarter records, including in Brazil, Malaysia and India,” he told analysts.

    That came as the California-based giant also reported its second straight drop in overall quarterly revenue, prompting concerns about a broader slowdown in demand amid economic uncertainty.

    “Clearly, growth has slowed globally and thus put more pressure [on Apple] to aggressively go after emerging markets,” said Daniel Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities.

    Ives predicts that “over the coming years, Indonesia, Malaysia and India will comprise a bigger piece of the pie for Apple, given its efforts in these countries.”

    The start of online sales in a country usually precedes the launch of brick-and-mortar stores for Apple, he told CNN. This was true of India, for instance, which got its first physical outlets last month and a pledge from Cook to further invest in the country.

    Thursday’s launch showed how Apple was “further cementing” its presence in emerging markets, according to Chiew Le Xuan, a research analyst who covers smartphones in Southeast Asia for Canalys.

    He said the tech giant had been “actively increasing” its presence in the region in recent months, ramping up its distribution and network of authorized resellers, especially in Malaysia.

    Apple has ample room to run in these markets.

    Currently, the company only operates its own stores in more developed regional economies, such as Thailand and Singapore, according to Canalys.

    Even Indonesia, a vast archipelago that is the world’s sixth-biggest smartphone market, doesn’t have a physical Apple store yet, said Chiew. Apple’s market share there is tiny, at just 1% in 2022, according to Canalys data.

    “We’re putting efforts in a number of these markets and really see, particularly given our low share and the dynamics of the demographics … a great opportunity for us,” Cook said during Apple’s results call.

    Apple joins a growing list of global businesses that have become bullish on Southeast Asia, where more investment is being poured into manufacturing.

    The region’s consumer base also holds promise, with the number of middle-income and affluent households in economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines projected to grow by around 5% annually through 2030, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

    The consultancy has called this group of consumers “the next mega-market.”

    The allure of Southeast Asia’s rising middle class “has changed the dynamic in these countries, which previously Apple stayed away from,” according to Ives.

    “This is a golden opportunity for Apple,” he said.

    For years, premium brands like Apple have have struggled to compete in emerging markets because of the price of their products, choosing instead to rely on local resellers.

    iPhones, which cost between $470 and $1,100, are expensive for consumers in less developed Southeast Asian economies, where the bulk of smartphone shipments are priced under $200, according to Chiew.

    He said Apple’s absence from places like Cambodia or Vietnam was typically more apparent around the launch of a new iPhone, as buyers from those countries often flew to Singapore or Malaysia to purchase devices and take them back for resale.

    A view of an Apple store at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in 2020. Buyers from other Southeast Asian countries without their own Apple stores typically line up outside such outlets to buy devices for resale, according to an analyst.

    This could change in the coming years, particularly as Apple continues to increase its firepower in the region.

    Ives predicted that Apple could “further expand its ecosystem and tentacles to emerging markets using its China playbook,” meaning it could try to hook customers through “various pricing strategies and building out from there.”

    Once those users have converted to Apple’s operating system, iOS, they tend to stick around and become loyal customers, he added.

    This has “been the core part of its success in China that now can be replicated in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, among others,” said Ives.

    But Apple may face hurdles in Southeast Asia, where several countries have placed stringent requirements on foreign businesses, according to Chiew.

    For example, at least 35% of the components of electronic goods sold in Indonesia must made locally, a threshold Apple has had to meet by working with partners, he added. Similar rules prevented Apple from setting up shop in India for years until the relaxation of regulations in 2019.

    And while consumers are becoming more affluent, the company’s price points are still considered high in many emerging markets, noted Ives. “Growth will be choppy we believe.”

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  • Call of Duty to remain on Playstation following Activision Blizzard Microsoft merger | CNN Business

    Call of Duty to remain on Playstation following Activision Blizzard Microsoft merger | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Microsoft

    (MSFT)     has signed an agreement with Sony

    (SNE)     to ensure “Call of Duty” remains available on PlayStation after Microsoft

    (MSFT)     closes its $69 billion Activision Blizzard

    (ATVI)     merger, the tech giant said Sunday.

    The agreement could resolve long-standing complaints by Sony that the merger — which aims to make Microsoft the third-largest video game publisher in the world — threatens competition. Sony didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard,” said Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s Xbox head, in a tweet. “We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.”

    Sony had been among the loudest critics of the acquisition. Addressing the company’s concerns about the continued availability of “Call of Duty,” one of the industry’s most popular franchises, could help Microsoft overcome any remaining opposition to the deal and usher it to a conclusion.

    In response to competition concerns from regulators around the world, Microsoft had already signed multiyear licensing agreements with rival companies including Nintendo and Nvidia, among others, to ensure Microsoft would not be able to restrict Activision titles from users of those businesses’ platforms and consoles.

    On Sunday, Microsoft did not disclose the duration of the agreement with Sony.

    “From Day One of this acquisition, we’ve been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith in a tweet. “Even after we cross the finish line for this deal’s approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before.”

    During a five-day hearing last month in federal court, Microsoft executives including CEO Satya Nadella testified properties such as “Call of Duty” would not be restricted from competitors following the deal’s close.

    Last week, US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote in her opinion the US government had “not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets.”

    Microsoft faces a contractual deadline of July 18 to close the merger with Activision, though the companies could mutually seek to extend that time frame.

    Last week, Microsoft won two successive court victories when a federal district court and a US appeals court declined to temporarily block the merger from being consummated. The Federal Trade Commission had argued a preliminary injunction was necessary to prevent video game consumers from being immediately harmed by the deal, which regulators said would enable Microsoft to withhold “Call of Duty” and other popular titles from competing consoles and cloud gaming services.

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