New iPhone 13 touts faster 5G, sharper cameras to spur trade-ins

Apple Inc. unveiled the iPhone 13 and a new iPad mini on Tuesday, expanding 5G connectivity and showing off faster chips and sharper cameras without raising the phone's price.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company did not announce any blockbuster features or products, but analysts expect customers hanging onto older models like the iPhone X will be eager to upgrade. To encourage trade-ins, participating wireless carriers are offering incentives ahead of the year-end holiday season that to make the new phones free to some customers. 

The iPhone 13 will have a new chip called the A15 Bionic that enables features, such as automatically translating text. The phone also has a better display, longer battery life and a Cinematic mode for automatically changing focus while taking videos. Apple said the iPhone 13 will have custom 5G antennas and radio components for faster speeds and will come in five colors. 

The phone will start at $699, and participating wireless carriers will offer up to $700 off for qualifying trade-ins. The iPhone 13 Pro starts at $999 and the Pro Max starts at $1,099, with trade-in offers of up to $1,000. All three models will be available Sept. 24.

The prices are unchanged from last year, but some carriers such as AT&T Inc will offer the devices for no additional if customers trade in a previous model and sign up for an installment plan.

Ben Bajarin, head of consumer technologies at Creative Strategies, said he expects those aggressive subsides and trade-in policies will increase as a way for Apple and carriers to hold on to customers.

"You don't have to put a down payment down and you keep paying what you were paying," Bajarin said. "That offer is unique to Apple, and it's a strength they have to keep these sales cycles going for them and for the carriers."

The iPhone is Apple's most important product, but Apple has rolled out a web of service and other products that are seen as locking customers into a system they enjoy -- and would find expensive to leave. 

The Series 7 smart watch will feature a larger display and faster charging. It will start at $399 and be available later this autumn.

The company also updated its iPad Mini with 5G connectivity and a reworked design that makes it look like the higher-end iPad Air and Pro models. Bob O'Donnell, head of TECHnalysis Research, said the small tablet was Apple's most surprising announcement of the day and could lure in customers who want a device with 5G that can handle more powerful apps than a phone.

"I don't think it replaces any other device, like we've seen Apple try to position some of the bigger iPads as PC replacements," O'Donnell said.

Apple also updated its base-model iPad with a new camera for working and learning from home. The base model iPad starts at $329, and the Mini starts at $499. Both will be available next week.

Apple shares were down 1.2%, a sharper fall than a slight downturn in broader markets.

"It seems like there's nothing really revolutionary announced, but of course, as usual, they announced enough improvements to at least generate some enthusiasm among consumers," said Rick Meckler, partner at family investment office Cherry Lane Investments. 

Apple's biggest product launch of the year comes as some of the shine has come off its stock as business practices such as charging software developers commissions on in-app payments have come under regulatory scrutiny.

Apple shares were up about 11.6% year to date as of Tuesday's close, trailing the Nasdaq Composite Index, which was up 16.7% over the same period.

Kim Forrest, founder and chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital, said she was not concerned by the lack of splashy, unexpected products, since Apple's upgrades would keep customers. "I think the consumer, once it gets the Apple chip in its head, it's very hard to dislodge," she said.

The Apple Watch has become a cornerstone of its $30.6 billion accessories segment, which was up 25% in Apple's most recent fiscal year even as its iPhone revenue declined slightly. Analysts widely believe that Apple users who buy more than one product - such as an Apple Watch and iPhone - are more likely to stick with the brand and spend on the company's apps and services.

Apple focused on fitness features such as improving how the watch tracks bicycling workouts and dust protection for hiking. The watch is paired tightly with Apple Fitness+, a paid service offering guided workouts with Apple instructors. The company added pilates and skiing-oriented workouts, and a group workouts function designed to let users work out together. The company also bundled three months of free service with its watch devices.

Shares of exercise bike and online training company Peloton were down about 1.6%.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Nivedita Balu, Nishara Karuvalli Pathikkal, Ashwini Raj and Taru Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker)

-reuters-

Apple doubles down on privacy in new iPhone software

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple on Monday said it is ramping up privacy and expanding features in new iPhone operating software to be released later this year.

The Silicon Valley technology colossus opened its annual developers conference by teasing improvements to security, privacy and interoperability of its devices, even as the company remains under fire for its tight control of its App Store.

"All of this incredible software will be available to all of our users this fall," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said during the Worldwide Developers Conference opening presentation.

"I am so excited for these new releases and how they will make our products even more powerful and more capable."

The next version of iPhone operating software, called iOS 15, will have improved privacy features including overviews of how apps access smartphone cameras or microphones as well as data such as location or contacts.

"We don't think you should have to make a trade-off between great features and privacy," said Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi.

Apple added notifications on "tracking" in the current version of its mobile operating system, to the chagrin of app-makers such as Facebook that contended it would undermine the targeting of ads that support free online content.

The update comes with Apple being challenged on several fronts over its control of apps on its ecosystem.

Fortnite maker Epic Games has accused Apple in a lawsuit of having monopoly power with its App Store that serves as the sole gateway onto iPhones or iPads.

Apple booted Fortnite from its App Store last year after Epic dodged agreed-upon revenue sharing with the iPhone maker.

The European Union has formally accused Apple of unfairly squeezing out music streaming rivals based on a complaint brought by Sweden-based Spotify and others, which claim the California group sets rules that favor its own Apple Music.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, who has described Apple as a rival, on Monday put out work that creators will continue to pay nothing to host paid or subscription events at the leading social network until the year 2023.

"And when we do introduce a revenue share, it will be less than the 30 percent that Apple and others take," Zuckerberg said in a post at his Facebook page.

Agence France-Presse

Apple bundles TV, music, news and more in services push

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple on Tuesday said it is putting TV, music, news and more in a subscription bundle as it increases its push into services tied to its iPhone "ecosystem."

An Apple One bundle to be available later this year will start at $15 monthly and include a freshly launched fitness service tied to Apple Watch.

The Silicon Valley titan made no mention of a keenly anticipated iPhone 5G considered vital to the company's fortunes, with analysts expecting that debut next month, due to disruption in production caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The subscription bundle highlights Apple's efforts to put more emphasis on digital content and services amid a sluggish global smartphone market.

The $15 Apple One bundle includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, the Apple Arcade game service and iCloud storage. A $20 family plan can be shared by up to six people.

An upgraded $30 bundle adds Apple Fitness+, Apple News+ and additional cloud storage.

"With Apple One, you can access the best of Apple entertainment across all your favorite devices with one simple subscription," said Apple senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue.

The Fitness+ service introduced by Apple is tied to its smartwatch line-up, which was enhanced with a Watch SE at $279, a price lower than that of its flagship wrist devices.

Apple also unveiled its Series 6 smartwatch, starting at $399, and added new features including monitoring sleep and blood oxygen levels as well as detecting when wearers are washing their hands.

"Handwashing detective recognizes the motion and sound when washing your hands and encourages you to continue for the recommended 20 seconds," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said during a presentation streamed from the company's spaceship campus in Silicon Valley.

Apple touched on roles its smartwatch, services and iPad in working or learning remotely and staying healthy as the pandemic continues to disrupt people's lives.

Apple Watch also serves as an anchor to the tech giant's mobile software, since it syncs with the iPhone.

"The key part for Apple is to keep the base of iPhone users and sell them a ton of accessories like AirPods and get services," said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy.

Apple also announced its eighth-generation iPad with its A12 Bionic chip starting at just $329, and a more powerful iPad Air from $499 with powered by the A14 Bionic chip.

Agence France-Presse

Apple CEO Tim Cook is fulfilling another Steve Jobs vision

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, was a tough act to follow. But Tim Cook seems to be doing so well at it that his eventual successor may also have big shoes to fill.

Initially seen as a mere caretaker for the iconic franchise that Jobs built before his 2011 death, Cook has forged his own distinctive legacy. He will mark his ninth anniversary as Apple’s CEO Monday -- the same day the company will split its stock for the second time during his reign, setting up the shares to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis beginning August 31.

Grooming Cook as heir apparent was “one of Steve Jobs’ greatest accomplishments that is vastly underappreciated,” said long-time Apple analyst Gene Munster, who is now managing partner of Loup Ventures.

The upcoming four-for-one stock split, a move that has no effect on share price but often spurs investor enthusiasm, is one measure of Apple’s success under Cook. The company was worth just under $400 billion when Cook the helm; it’s worth five times more than that today, and has just become the first U.S. company to boast a market value of $2 trillion. Its share performance has easily eclipsed the benchmark S&P 500, which has roughly tripled in value during the past nine years.

But it hasn’t always been easy. Among the challenges Cook has faced: a slowdown in iPhone sales as smartphones matured, a showdown with the FBI over user privacy, a U.S. trade war with China that threatened to force up iPhone prices and now a pandemic that has closed many of Apple’s retail stores and sunk the economy into a deep recession.

Cook, 59, has also struck out in into novel territory. Apple now pays a quarterly dividend, a step Jobs resisted partly because he associated shareholder payments with stodgy companies that were past their prime. Cook also used his powerful perch to become an outspoken advocate for civil rights and renewable energy, and on a personal level came out as the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 2014.

Apple declined to make Cook available for an interview. But it did point to 2009 comments Cook made to financial analysts when he was running the company while Jobs battled pancreatic cancer.

Asked what the company might look like under his management, Cook said that Apple needs “to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.” It has doubled down on that commitment, becoming a major chip producer in order to supply both iPhones and Macs. He added that Apple would resist exploring most projects “so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.”

That laser focus has served Apple well. At the same time, though, under Cook’s stewardship, Apple has largely failed to come up with breakthrough successors to the iPhone. Its smartwatch and wireless ear buds have emerged as market leaders, but not game changers.

Cook and other executives have dropped hints that Apple wants make a big splash in the field of augmented reality, which uses phone screens or high-tech eyewear to paint digital images into the real world. Apple has yet to deliver, although neither have other companies that have hyped the technology.

Apple also remains a laggard in artificial intelligence, particularly in the increasingly important market for voice-activated digital assistants. Although Apple’s Siri is widely used on Apple devices, Amazon’s Alexa and Google″s digital assistant have made major inroads in helping people manage their lives, particularly in homes and offices.

Apple also has stumbled a few times under Cook’s leadership.

In 2017, it alienated customers by deliberately but quietly slowing the performance of older iPhones via a software update, ostensibly to spare the life of aging batteries. Many consumers, though, viewed it as a ploy to boost sales of newer and more expensive iPhones. Amid the furor, Apple offered to replace aging batteries at a steep discount; later it paid $500 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over the matter.

Apple has also faced government investigations into its aggressive efforts to minimize its corporate taxes and complaints that it has abused control of its app store to charge excessive fees and stifle competition to its own digital services. On the tax front, a court ruled in July that Apple did nothing wrong.

Cook has turned the app store into the cornerstone of a services division that he set out to expand four years ago. At the time, it was growing clear that sales of the iPhone -- Apple’s biggest money maker -- were destined to slow down as innovations grew sparse and consumers kept their old devices for longer.

To help offset that trend, Cook began to emphasize recurring revenue from app commission, warranty programs and streaming subscriptions to music, video, games and news sold for the more 1.5 billion devices already running on the company’s software.

After doubling in size in less than four years, Apple’s services division now generates $50 billion in annual revenue, more than all but 65 companies in the Fortune 500. Ives estimates Apple’s services division by itself is worth about $750 billion -- about the same as Facebook currently is in its entirety.

That division could be worth even more now had Cook done something many analysts believe Apple should have done at least five years ago by dipping into a hoard of cash that at one point surpassed $260 billion to buy Netflix or a major movie studio to fuel its video streaming ambitions.

Buying Netflix seemed like within the realm of possibility five years ago when the video streaming service was valued at around $40 billion. Now that Netflix is worth more than $200 billion today, that idea seems off the table, even for a company with Apple’s vast resources.

Associated Press

Apple to ship 1 million face shields a week for medical workers

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Apple has said it will soon be producing one million face shields a week for medical workers battling the coronavirus pandemic.

The tech giant had already sourced 20 million surgical masks from around the world to help address a global shortage, chief executive Tim Cook said in a video posted to Twitter on Sunday. 

But the company had also designed its own transparent protective face shield and begun mass production at its factories in the US and China, he added. 

"We plan to ship over one million by the end of this week," said Cook. 

Initial distribution would be focused on the US but the company hoped to "quickly expand distribution" to other countries, he said. 

Apple joins several global firms that have modified their production lines to meet demand for protective gear, including Italian luxury brand Prada.

US President Donald Trump last month issued a federal order forcing auto giant General Motors to manufacture ventilators after a shortage of the hospital equipment, which is crucial for treating critical COVID-19 cases.

Agence France-Presse

Apple investor vote sounds 'warning' over China app takedowns

An Apple Inc shareholder proposal critical of the company's app removals in China received a relatively high level of support at the iPhone maker's annual meeting on Wednesday, enough to push the company to respond, experts said.

The proposal, which called for Apple to report whether it has "publicly committed to respect freedom of expression as a human right," was defeated, but 40.6 percent of votes cast supported the measure, according to company figures.

The proposal highlighted Apple's 2017 removal of virtual private network apps from its App Store in China. Such apps allow users to bypass China’s so-called Great Firewall aimed at restricting access to overseas sites, and Apple's action was seen as a step to preserve access to the country's vast market.

Wednesday's vote stood in contrast to previous years when critics made little headway with big investors on the issue.

"A total this high is a striking warning — and it must have come from big institutional investors, not just retail shareholders — that Apple’s human rights policy in China has become a material risk for the company’s reputation," said Stephen Davis, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School's Program on Corporate Governance.

"Apple will be under great pressure to respond rather than ignore this vote," Davis said.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the results. Apple had opposed the proposal, saying it already provides extensive information about when it takes down apps at the request of governments around the world and that it follows the laws in countries where it operates.

SumOfUs, the group that put the measure on the ballot, celebrated the totals.

"Apple’s investors have sounded the alarm that Tim Cook needs to listen to the concerns raised by frontline communities such as Tibetans and Uighurs who have long suffered under a tech dystopia," said Sondhya Gupta, a campaign manager for the group.

Cook is Apple's chief executive.

In the past, Apple shareholders have voted down human rights measures related to China by much larger margins. A 2018 proposal that urged Apple to create a human rights panel to oversee issues such as workplace conditions and censorship in China was defeated, with 94.4 percent of votes cast against it.

Sentiment appears to have shifted, experts said.

"Given the high level of support received for the proposal, we expect to see the company engage with its shareholders on the issue and report to shareholders about what happened in the engagements, including any potential actions it intends to take as a result," said Kern McPherson, vice president of research and engagement for proxy advisory firm Glass, Lewis & Co, which supported the measure.

Apple has signaled it is considering action. In a letter earlier this month to Access Now, an open-internet advocacy group, Apple's senior privacy director, Jane Horvath, wrote: "Apple has and always will consider freedom of expression a fundamental human right." The company, she said, "will consider providing additional details on our commitment in the future." The proposal was one of six topics to be voted on at Wednesday's shareholder meeting. By wide margins, shareholders approved Apple's executive pay, existing board of directors and the retention of Ernst & Young as its accounting firm, results that were widely expected.

A "proxy access" proposal to allow shareholders to nominate more than one director to Apple's board was defeated, with 68.9 percent of votes cast against. Also voted down was a measure to tie executive compensation to environmental sustainability metrics, with 87.9 percent of votes cast against it, according to the company.

Shareholders defeated a "proxy access" proposal to allow shareholders to nominate more than one director to Apple's board, with 68.9 percent of votes cast against. They also voted down a measure to tie executive compensation to environmental sustainability metrics, with 87.9 percent of votes cast against it, according to the company.

Apple had opposed both proposals.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump wants Apple to be involved in 5G infrastructure building in US

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had asked Apple Inc Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to look into helping develop telecommunications infrastructure for 5G wireless networks in the United States.

"They have it all - Money, Technology, Vision & Cook!" Trump tweeted.

Trump met with Cook on Wednesday during his visit to Apple's upcoming campus in Texas, in the latest sign of a close relationship between two of America's most powerful men.

5G networks will offer data speeds up to 50 or 100 times faster than the current 4G networks, and serve as critical infrastructure for a range of industries.

Among US firms, Qualcomm Inc is the dominant player in radio chips that help mobiles connect to networks and Cisco Systems Inc which makes networking gear.

Mobile operators have to upgrade their networks with 5G gear made by the likes of China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Oyj.

Trump has earlier said that United States intended to deploy 5G services rapidly and plans to cooperate with "like-minded nations" to promote security in next-generation 5G networks.

The United States has been pressing nations not to grant Huawei access to future 5G networks and alleged Huawei's equipment could be used by Beijing for spying, which the Chinese company has repeatedly denied.

The US Congress has been considering legislation to authorize up to $1 billion for small and rural wireless providers to replace network equipment from companies, including Huawei and ZTE, that lawmakers say pose a national security risk.

Some of Apple's rivals in the smartphone market — notably Samsung Electronics Co Ltd — have already released 5G devices, pressuring Apple to match the feature. Many carriers that are investing heavily to build 5G networks are also likely to put their marketing efforts behind 5G phones.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Shounak Dasgupta)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump-Cook 'bromance' culminates with visit to Apple factory

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's visit to Apple's Texas manufacturing plant represents a truce in the White House war on Silicon Valley and an unlikely "bromance" with chief executive Tim Cook.

The visit will give the US leader a chance to hail American manufacturing and step back, at least temporarily, from his tirade against big technology firms.

Apple announced in September it would keep making its Mac Pro computer in the United States, after obtaining tariff exemptions for some components in the high-end computers.

The developments show an unusual Trump-Cook relationship in sharp contrast with the president's attacks on other tech giants.

"On the face of it, it's an unlikely relationship," said Roger Kay, analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates who follows the sector.

Cook, who supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, has been able to sidestep much of Trump's anger by being "very diplomatic," Kay said.

"He's not saying 'I love Trump,' but he's not saying 'I hate Trump,'" said Kay.

"He hasn't made any disparaging public comments. By not ruffling Trump's feathers he's gotten quite a lot out of it."

Cook and Trump remain far apart on a number of issues including trade and immigration, with Apple opposing the White House plan to end protection for so-called "dreamers" who came to the US as children.

While Apple has acknowledged it has paid some tariffs imposed by Trump on goods imported from China, the iPhone maker has so far avoided a major impact from the trade friction.

SIDESTEPPING TRUMP TIRADES

Trump, who has called Google and social media firms "biased" and been especially critical of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos -- accusing him of using his personal investment in the Washington Post for politics -- has had mostly praise for the Apple CEO.

"Other companies hire very expensive consultants," Trump said in August. "But the only one who calls me is Tim Cook. He calls me whenever there's a problem."

Trump, who once referred to the CEO as "Tim Apple," appears to be forging a friendly relationship with Cook even when he offers criticism.

In one tweet, he seemed to fret over the design of the latest iPhones which no longer have a home button.

"To Tim: The Button on the IPhone was FAR better than the Swipe!" Trump wrote.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Cook has quietly cultivated his relationship with Trump through the president's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both of whom advise the president.

Trump appears to have softened some of his positions on tariffs after hearing Cook's argument that punishing Apple would help foreign rivals such as Samsung.

"Tim Cook has gone out of his way it seems to develop a relationship with President Trump because he was concerned I'm sure of the potential impact on the business" from Trump's policies, said Bob O'Donnell of Technalysis Research.

Because most of Apple products are manufactured in China, "there was a potentially large impact on profitability," O'Donnell said.

"Tim Cook is trying to be pragmatic and trying to address the issue by tackling it head on."

Apple, which benefited from legislation signed by Trump that reduced taxes on repatriated profits from 35 to 15 percent, has responded to White House efforts by pledging to invest $350 billion in the US economy by 2023 through its own manufacturing and from suppliers.

O'Donnell said that Cook's efforts to forge a relationship with Trump has some risks as well in Silicon Valley, where the president is unpopular.

"I think some people who are Apple fans and don't like Trump find it a little disconcerting," O'Donnell said.

Kay said however that Apple employees and customers understand the needs of the business, and that Cook's efforts might even ease some of the tensions between the White House and the tech industry.

"Maybe Tim can create a rosier halo around Silicon Valley," Kay said.

"If he puts a human face on Silicon Valley, it could give Trump a slightly different view."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

EXPLAINER: End-to-end encryption and chat privacy

SAN FRANCISCO — A Justice Department official hinted on Monday that a years-long fight over encrypted communications could become part of a sweeping investigation of big tech companies.

While a department spokesman declined to discuss specifics, a speech Monday by the deputy attorney general, Jeffrey A. Rosen, pointed toward heightened interest in technology called end-to-end encryption, which makes it nearly impossible for law enforcement and spy agencies to access people’s digital communications.

Law enforcement and technologists have been arguing over encryption controls for more than two decades. On one side are privacy advocates and tech bosses like Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, who believe people should be able to have online communications free of snooping. On the other side are law enforcement and some lawmakers, who believe tough encryption makes it impossible to track child predators, terrorists and other criminals.

Attorney General William P. Barr, joined by his British and Australian counterparts, recently pressed Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, to abandon plans to embed end-to-end encryption in services like Messenger and Instagram. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, already provides that tougher encryption.

“Companies should not deliberately design their systems to preclude any form of access to content even for preventing or investigating the most serious crimes,” Barr wrote in a letter last month.

Here is an explanation of the technology and the stakes.

HOW DOES THE ENCRYPTION WORK?

End-to-end encryption scrambles messages in such a way that they can be deciphered only by the sender and the intended recipient. As the label implies, end-to-end encryption takes place on either end of a communication. A message is encrypted on a sender’s device, sent to the recipient’s device in an unreadable format, then decoded for the recipient.

There are several ways to do this, but the most popular works like this: A program on your device mathematically generates two cryptographic keys — a public key and a private key.

The public key can be shared with anyone who wants to encrypt a message to you. The private key, or secret key, decrypts messages sent to you and never leaves your device. Think of it like a locked mailbox. Anyone with a public key can put something in your box and lock it, but only you have the private key to unlock it.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FORMS OF ENCRYPTION?

A more common form of encryption, known as transport layer encryption, relies on a third party, like a tech company, to encrypt messages as they move across the web.

With this type of encryption, law enforcement and intelligence agencies can get access to encrypted messages by presenting technology companies with a warrant or national security letter. The sender and recipient would not have to know about it.

End-to-end encryption ensures that no one can eavesdrop on the contents of a message while it is in transit. It forces spies or snoops to go directly to the sender or recipient to read the content of the encrypted message. Or they must hack directly into the sender’s or recipient’s device, something that can be harder to do “at scale” and makes mass surveillance much more difficult.

Privacy activists, libertarians, security experts and human rights activists argue that end-to-end encryption steers governments away from mass surveillance and toward a more targeted, constitutional form of intelligence gathering. But intelligence and law enforcement agencies argue that end-to-end encryption makes it much harder to track terrorists, pedophiles and human traffickers.

When Zuckerberg announced in March that Facebook would move all three of its messaging services to end-to-end encryption, he acknowledged the risk it presented for “truly terrible things like child exploitation.”

“Encryption is a powerful tool for privacy, but that includes the privacy of people doing bad things,” he said.

HASN'T THIS DEBATE BEEN AROUND FOR DECADES?

The debate over end-to-end encryption has had several iterations, beginning in the 1990s with the spread of Pretty Good Privacy, or PGP, software, an end-to-end encryption scheme designed by a programmer named Phil Zimmermann. As a result, the Clinton administration proposed a “Clipper Chip,” a back door for law enforcement and security agencies.

But the Clipper Chip provoked a backlash from a coalition of unlikely bedfellows, including the American Civil Liberties Union; televangelist Pat Robertson; and Sens. John Kerry, (Democrat, Massachusetts), and John Ashcroft, (Republican, Montana). The White House backed down in 1996.

End-to-end encryption gained more traction in 2013, after data leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden appeared to show the extent to which the NSA and other intelligence and law enforcement agencies were gaining access to users’ communications through companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and Facebook without their knowledge.

Encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Wicker gained in popularity, and tech giants like Apple and Facebook started wrapping user data in end-to-end encryption.

Google, which pledged to add an end-to-end encryption option for Gmail users several years ago, has not made this the default option for email. But the company does offer a video-calling app, Duo, that is end-to-end encrypted.

As more communications moved to these end-to-end encrypted services, law enforcement and intelligence services around the world started to complain about data’s “going dark.”

WHAT ARE GOVERNMENTS DOING?

Government agencies have tried to force technology companies to roll back end-to-end encryption, or build back doors, like the Clipper Chip of the 1990s, into their encrypted products to facilitate government surveillance.

In the most aggressive of these efforts, the FBI tried in 2016 to compel Apple in federal court to unlock the iPhone of one of the attackers in the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.

Cook of Apple called the FBI’s effort “the software equivalent of cancer.” He said complying with the request would open the door to more invasive government interception down the road.

“Maybe it’s an operating system for surveillance, maybe the ability for the law enforcement to turn on the camera,” Cook told ABC News. “I don’t know where it stops.”

Privacy activists and security experts noted that any back door created for US law enforcement agencies would inevitably become a target for foreign adversaries, cybercriminals and terrorists.

Alex Stamos, chief security officer of Yahoo at the time, likened the creation of an encryption back door to “drilling a hole in the windshield.” By trying to provide an entry point for one government, you end up cracking the structural integrity of the entire encryption shield.

The FBI eventually backed down. Instead of forcing Apple to create a back door, the agency said it had paid an outside party to hack into the phone of the San Bernardino gunman.

SO WHAT NOW?

Governments have stepped up their calls for an encryption back door.

Last year, Australian lawmakers passed a bill requiring technology companies to provide law enforcement and security agencies with access to encrypted communications. The bill gave the government the ability to get a court order allowing it to secretly order technology companies and technologists to re-engineer software and hardware so that it can be used to spy on users.

Australia’s law is based on Britain’s 2016 Investigatory Powers Act, which compels British companies to hand over the keys to unscramble encrypted data to law enforcement agencies. The Australian law could apply to overseas companies like Facebook and Apple.

Australia’s new law applies to network administrators, developers and other tech employees, forcing them to comply with secret government demands without notifying their employers.

Other governments are also considering new encryption laws. In India, Facebook’s biggest market, officials told the country’s Supreme Court in October that Indian law requires Facebook to decrypt messages and supply them to law enforcement upon request.

“They can’t come into the country and say, ‘We will establish a non-decryptable system,’” India’s attorney general, K.K. Venugopal, told the court, referring to Facebook and other big tech platforms. India’s Supreme Court has said it will reconvene on the issue in January.


2019 The New York Times Company

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple tunes out trade war as new AirPods, services lift holiday outlook

Apple Inc on Wednesday forecast sales for the crucial holiday shopping quarter ahead of Wall Street expectations, with Chief Executive Tim Cook seeing strong sales of the wearables such as the noise-cancelling AirPods Pro and hoping for a US-China trade deal by year-end.

Cook wants to wean Apple off stagnating iPhone sales that make up over half its revenue and switch to generating income from services and wearables. Cook is implementing the strategy while also shepherding Apple through a trade dispute between two of its most important markets, the United States and China.

Apple said it expects $85.5 billion to $89.5 billion in sales for its fiscal first quarter that ends in December, with a midpoint of $87.5 billion that is above analyst expectations of $86.9 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Apple shares rose about 2 percent to $247.50 in after-hours trading on the news.

In an interview with Reuters, Cook said he anticipated strong sales of services and wearables, as well “a very, very good start” for sales of the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max released last month. Cook said the forecast also reflected the company's belief that the United States and China will resolve their trade dispute.

"I don't know every chapter of the book, but I think that will eventually happen," Cook told Reuters. "I certainly hope it happens during the quarter, but we'll see about that."

The forecast comes as the Cupertino, California-based company said it generated $33.36 billion in iPhone sales for its fiscal fourth quarter ended in September, which compares with analyst expectations of $32.42 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

The results mark the fourth straight quarter of year-over-year declining iPhone sales. At the same time, hardware is getting less profitable on a gross margin basis, with Apple's net product sales falling while the cost of sales rose slightly.

But Hal Eddins, chief economist for Apple shareholder Capital Investment Counsel, said part of Apple's rising stock price came from interest rate cuts by US officials and other indicators of slowing economic growth. "Investors feel emboldened to pay up for what they feel is 'guaranteed growth' with big tech," Eddins said.

In September, Apple unveiled a lineup that included the new iPhone 11 priced at $699, $50 lower than the debut price of its predecessor, the iPhone XR.

"The starting price of $699 is a factor in bringing more people into the market and giving people just another reason to upgrade," Cook told Reuters. "In China specifically ... we picked locally relevant price points that were more similar to the price points that had great success with earlier."

Apple's revenue is increasingly coming from accessories such as the Apple Watch and AirPods as well as new services such as its Apple Card credit card and a streaming television service set to begin on Friday. Customers will be able to buy iPhones using the Apple Card with no interest for 24 months, Cook said on the conference call.

Apple said its services and accessories segments generated $12.51 billion and $6.52 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, respectively, topping analyst estimates of $12.15 billion and $6 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Apple now has 450 million subscribers to its own or third-party services on its devices, and sales of wearables were up 54 percent versus the previous year.

"It was an incredible quarter for wearables," Cook said. "It was a very broad range of services that set new all-time records, from our payment services to the search ad business to Apple Music, Apple Care, the App Store and cloud services - almost every kind of service we're in."

Apple sales for its Greater China region dropped a relatively modest 2.4 percent to $11.13 billion in Apple's fiscal fourth quarter ended in September.

"The China growth being down only 2% in this environment is a win," said John Ham of Apple investor New England Investment and Retirement Group. "The Chinese consumer isn’t punishing Apple as the American face of the trade war."

Apple's Cook said that iPhone sales in China ticked up toward the end of the quarter, which includes several days of sales of the new iPhone 11 models. Cook also said the company saw double-digit services revenue growth in China and wearables revenue in China grew at a higher rate than the companywide figure.

"iPhone had a remarkable comeback from the way we performed earlier in the year," Cook said.

Apple's holiday-quarter forecast comes amid a trade conflict between the United States and China, where Apple assembles most of its products and where many of its suppliers are located. Tariffs on imports that would include Apple accessories took effect in September.

Tariffs might hit more categories of goods including Apple's iPhone on Dec. 15, though US and Chinese negotiators were working on a deal.

Apple said its revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter was $64.04 billion, compared with analyst expectations of $62.99 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Earnings per share were $3.03 versus expectations of $2.84. On an absolute basis, earnings dropped from $14.13 billion to $13.69 billion, with the per-share results driven by a smaller base of outstanding shares due to repurchases.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump takes swipe at Apple for ditching iPhone home button

President Donald Trump took a swipe at Apple chief Tim Cook with a Tweet lamenting the removal of the iPhone home button.

"To Tim: The Button on the IPhone was FAR better than the Swipe!" he tweeted Friday.

Trump switched from an Android mobile to an iPhone in March 2017, the same year Apple dropped the physical home button from its top models.

This earlier shift seemed to be the target of presidential ire, rather Apple's latest iPhone 11 release in September.

It is not the first time Trump has cast a critical eye over the tech giant's design choices.

"I cannot believe that Apple didn't come out with a larger screen IPhone. Samsung is stealing their business. STEVE JOBS IS SPINNING IN GRAVE," he tweeted in September 2013.

It also comes after a gaffe in March when he referred to Cook as "Tim Apple".

Trump later claimed the naming was deliberate and a "time saving" measure.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple unveils iPhone 11 models, with price cut

Apple unveiled its iPhone 11 models Tuesday, touting upgraded, ultra-wide cameras as it updated its popular smartphone lineup and cut its entry price to $699.

The newest handsets come as Apple seeks to spur new upgrades in a slumping global smartphone market.

The new iPhones are "jam packed with new capabilities and an incredible new design," Apple chief executive Tim Cook told a launch event in Cupertino, California.

The surprise from Apple was the reduction in the entry-level price at $699, down from the starting level of $749 for the iPhone XR a year ago even as many premium devices are being priced around $1,000.

Apple additionally unveiled a more expensive "Pro" model of the iPhone 11.

It also set launch dates for its original video offering, Apple TV+, and its game subscription service as part of efforts to reduce its dependence on the iPhone.

The TV+ service will launch November 1 in more than 100 countries at $4.99 per month and will include a "powerful and inspiring lineup of original shows, movies and documentaries."

Apple is featuring scripted dramas, comedies and movies as well as children's programs in the service, which will compete against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.

"With Apple TV+, we are presenting all-original stories from the best, brightest and most creative minds, and we know viewers will find their new favorite show or movie on our service," said Zack Van Amburg, Apple's head of video.

Apple said customers who purchase an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch or Mac will get the first year of the service for free.

The company's online gaming subscription service, Apple Arcade, will launch next week, offering exclusive titles for mobile and desktop users.

The new service, which will also cost $4.99 per month, will include more than 100 game titles made for Apple devices.

"You can't find these games on any other mobile platform or subscription service, no games service ever launched as many games, and we can't wait for you to play all of that," product manager Ann Thai told the Apple media event.

Apple also unveiled updates to its iPad tablet and Apple Watch smartwatch.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple CEO warns Trump about China tariffs, Samsung competition

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had spoken with Apple Inc's Chief Executive Tim Cook about the impact of US tariffs on Chinese imports as well as competition from South Korean company Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

Trump said Cook "made a good case" that tariffs could hurt Apple, given that Samsung's products would not be subject to those same tariffs. Tariffs on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, including consumer electronics, are scheduled to go into effect in two stages on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.

By contrast, the United States and South Korea struck a trade agreement last September.

"I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I'm thinking about it," Trump said of Cook, speaking with reporters at a New Jersey airport.

US stock futures rose upon opening on Sunday after Trump's comments. In addition to his comments on Apple, Trump said on Twitter earlier in the day that his administration was "doing very well with China."

Apple's MacBook laptops and iPhones would not face the additional tariffs until Dec. 15, but some of the company's other products, including its AirPods, Apple Watch and HomePod, would be subject to the levies on Sept. 1.

Apple was not immediately available for comment outside normal business hours.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple's AirPods, Watch fail to escape Trump's China tariffs

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON -- Apple Inc's AirPods, Apple Watch and HomePod, which have helped the company offset waning sales of its bestselling iPhone this year, are not included in a temporary reprieve on tariffs by the Trump administration and will face a 10 percent levy on Sept 1.

The administration said on Tuesday that some major items, such as laptops and cellphones, including Apple's MacBooks and iPhones, will not face tariffs until Dec. 15. President Donald Trump said the change was to avoid an impact on US customers during the Christmas shopping season. The tariff delay that affects some of Apple's biggest-selling products helped send its shares up more than 4 percent in late trading.

Trump and his administration did not say why some electronics received a reprieve and others did not. Many of the products set to face tariffs on Sept. 1, such as smart watches, fitness trackers, smart speakers and Bluetooth headphones, had been spared once before.

These include popular products from Apple rivals, such as Fitbit smart watches and smart speakers from Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google. The Trump administration had proposed tariffs on those devices to take effect last September, but they were spared at the last moment after Apple, among other companies, told the government that the levies would "result in lower US growth and competitiveness and higher prices for US consumers.”

Some accessories have been central to Apple's efforts to diversify revenue beyond its signature iPhone, which pushed the company's market capitalization past $1 trillion in 2018 though the market cap has slipped this year.

In Apple's latest reported fiscal quarter, the iPhone contributed less than half of company revenues for the first time in seven years. The iPhone's decline was somewhat offset by a 50 percent jump in sales of so-called wearables, such as the Apple Watch and AirPods, helping Apple beat Wall Street estimates and boosting its stock.

Apple does not break out by geographic region the sales of products such as wearables.

"We've really put large strategic investments and resources and interest into wearables and services," Apple CEO Tim Cook told Reuters on July 30. "And if you take those two and add them together, they're now the size of a Fortune 50 company, and they were essentially nascent businesses not that long ago."

Apple, Fitbit, Amazon and Google did not immediately return requests for comment. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple loses more ground as 'iPhone 11' launch looms

SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple lost more ground in the shrinking smartphone market last quarter, with a sales tracker saying the tech giant was pushed off the top-three seller list by a Chinese rival.

Apple fell to fourth place in global smartphone sales, shipping 35.3 million iPhones in the second quarter compared to the 36.2 million units shipped by Oppo, according to a report from IHS Markit this week.

Cupertino, California-based Apple is expected to launch by September the successors to its iPhone XS and XR models from 2018 with what may be called the iPhone 11 or XI.

South Korean consumer electronics titan Samsung remained in first place with 23 percent of the market, having shipped 75.1 million smartphones, China's Huawei shipped 58.7 million smartphones to claim 18 percent of the market, IHS Markit calculated.

"Apple continues to face challenges in terms of unit shipments -- a trend that is unlikely to be fixed soon," IHS smartphone research and analysis director Jusy Hong said in an online post.

While California-based Apple has been aggressively promoting iPhones, current-generation smartphones have "super-premium" prices while models a few years old are still costly compared to bargain Android-powered handsets, the analyst reasoned.

Other smartphone market trackers such as Counterpoint Research and International Data Corporation concluded that while iPhone shipments sank in the second quarter, Apple remained in third place what it came to global shipments.

Huawei, meanwhile, saw smartphone shipments rise despite the overall market contracting and US-China trade tensions, market trackers reported.

CHINESE RIVALS RISING

Huawei -- considered the world leader in superfast fifth-generation, or 5G, equipment and the world's number two smartphone producer -- has been blacklisted by US President Donald Trump amid suspicions it provides a backdoor for Chinese intelligence services. The company denies those charges.

"The effect of the ban did not translate into falling shipments during this quarter, which will not be the case in the future," Counterpoint associate research director Tarun Pathak said in the firm's market report.

"In the coming quarters, Huawei is likely to be aggressive in its home market and register some growth there, but it will not be enough to offset for the decline in its overseas shipments."

The combined global smartphone market share of Chinese firms Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Realme reached a new high of 42 percent in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint.

"These brands have been aggressively expanding outside China and achieving growth offsetting the saturation in their home market," said Counterpoint research analyst Varun Mishra.

"Their strategies and product portfolios are more aligned to the local needs and preferences, which is one of their key strengths."

Apple has been striving to wean itself off its reliance on iPhone sales with a focus on services, digital content and related gadgets.

In the just-ended quarter, Apple for the first time took in less than half its revenue from the iPhone, the longtime cash and profit driver for the company.

Apple managed to grow its overall revenues, albeit by a modest one percent, to $53.8 billion, even as iPhone revenues plunged nearly 12 percent in the April-June period.

The company delivered strong growth from digital content and services including Apply Pay and Apple Music, along with wearables and accessories like the Apple Watch and Air Pods.

Apple has stopped reporting iPhone unit sales, but chief executive Tim Cook said during an earnings call that there was a "strong customer response" to iPhone promotions and financing programs.

Apple saw its sales improve in the crucial China market, which included a double-digit increase in services revenue driven by strong growth in the App Store there, according to the company.

The sale of iPhones in that country was boosted by factors including pricing moves by Apple, and trade-in and financing programs, Cook said.

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In streaming wars, Apple says it can coexist with Netflix

Far from being a Netflix Inc killer, Apple Inc envisions its forthcoming Apple TV+ streaming service as one that could sit alongside other services that viewers buy, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said on Tuesday.

Apple in March said it will launch a streaming service with original content from big names including Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg. It plans to spend $2 billion on programming but has not said how much the service will cost.

Investors are keeping a close eye on Apple's television efforts because subscription services are an increasingly important part of its financial results as iPhone sales decline.

Apple is entering a crowded field, including Walt Disney Co's $6.99 per month service launching this fall. At the other end of the price spectrum, Alphabet Inc's YouTube this month said that it was raising the price of its YouTube TV online service, a cable-like bundle of more than 70 channels, to $49.99 per month.

On a conference call with investors on Tuesday, Cook indicated that Apple will not try to give viewers everything they want.

"There's a huge move from the cable bundle to over-the-top," Cook told investors during a call on Tuesday, referring to streaming television services delivered over the internet rather than a traditional cable service.

"We think that most users are going to get multiple over-the-top products, and we're going to do our best to convince them that the Apple TV+ product should be one of them."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple pivot led by star-packed video service

CUPERTINO, California - With Hollywood stars galore, Apple unveiled its streaming video plans Monday along with news and game subscription offerings as part of an effort to shift its focus to digital content and services to break free of its reliance on iPhone sales.

Director Steven Spielberg, TV host Oprah Winfrey, and Hollywood stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carrell made appearances at the event that brings Apple into direct competition with Netflix and the rest of the entertainment sector.

"We all want to be heard, but we also need to listen... to be able to harness our hopes and dreams and heal our divisions," Winfrey told a packed audience in the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple's campus in Silicon Valley.

"That is why I have joined forces with Apple. The Apple platform allows me to do what I do, in whole new way."

The Apple TV+ service, an on-demand, ad-free subscription service, will launch this year in 100 countries, the company said.

"We believe deeply in the power of creativity," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said.

"Great stories can change the world. We feel we can contribute something important to our culture and to our society through great storytelling."

Apple revealed only a few of the programs to launch but announced it was working with celebrities on both sides of the camera, including Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa, and M. Night Shyamalan.

The new content will be available on an upgraded Apple TV app, which will be on smart television sets and third-party platforms including Roku and Amazon's Fire TV. 

Apple will also allow consumers to subscribe to third-party services like HBO and Starz from the same application. The cost of the service, along with financial deals with content creators, were not disclosed.

Apple is aiming to leverage its position with some 900 people worldwide who use at least one of its devices. But some suggested Apple's path may be harder than anticipated.

"I don't want to know which famous people Apple has signed up. I want to know if the annual budget is $1bn or $10bn," tweeted Benedict Evans, a Silicon Valley investor and blogger. 

"Getting audience for a TV platform is like orbital mechanics - the only way to go up is to burn more fuel."

While some view Apple's move as a reinvention of the iconic company, analyst Richard Windsor said on his Radio Free Mobile blog that the video service "is very unlikely to ever be big enough to wean Apple off of its long addiction to selling hardware."


APPLE NEWS+

Meanwhile, a new Apple News+ service at a cost of $9.99 per month will include the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal, digital news sites and more than 300 magazine titles including Rolling Stone, Time, National Geographic Wired and The New Yorker.

"We think Apple News+ will be great for customers and great for publishers," Cook said.

Apple News+ was launched Monday in the US and Canada in English and French and will be available later this year in Britain and Australia, the company said.

Separately, the company said it was launching a new game subscription service called Apple Arcade later this year with at least 100 titles at launch.

"Apple Arcade will introduce an innovative way to access a collection of brand new games that will not be available on any other mobile platform or in any other subscription service," Apple said in a statement.

"Rather than pay up front for each game, a subscription to Apple Arcade will give players the opportunity to try any game in the service without risk."

The game service will be available in 150 countries, with pricing to be announced later.

The move comes as Apple shifts to emphasize digital content and other services to offset a pullback in the once-sizzling smartphone market, and with many news organizations struggling to monetize their online services.

SELLING PRIVACY

Apple sought to highlight privacy and data protection for its new services, responding to consumer concerns about personal information bought and sold by Silicon Valley firms.

It said advertisers would not be able to track the activity of subscribers to the news service and its Arcade would have no ads, ad tracking or additional purchases.

On additional services, Apple said it would offer a credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs to be integrated with Apple Pay and that digital payments would be launched for 3 transit systems in the United States.

Those signing up will get a physical card and one for a digital wallet, with the 2 companies pledging to refrain from sharing or selling data to third parties for marketing and advertising.

Apple Card features that could shake-up the credit card industry, included not charging fees, giving users cash back on purchases, and providing tools for people to better manage their debt.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple includes 300 magazines in subscription news service

CUPERTINO, California - Apple launched a subscription news service Monday that includes more than 300 magazines as part of the iPhone maker's pivot to services.

For a monthly cost of $9.99, the Apple News+ service will include the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal, digital news sites, and magazine titles, including Rolling Stone, Time, Wired, and The New Yorker.

"We believe in the power of journalism and the impact it will have on our lives," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said at the rollout event in Cupertino, California.

"We think Apple News+ will be great for customers and great for publishers."

Apple News+ was launched Monday in the US and Canada in English and French and will be available later this year in Britain and Australia, the company said.

Separately, the company said it was launching a new game subscription service called Apple Arcade later this year with at least 100 titles. It will be available in 150 countries, with pricing to be announced later.

The move comes as Apple shifts to emphasize digital content and other services to offset slumps in smartphone sales, and as many news organizations are struggling to monetize their online services.

The company said advertisers would not be able to track the activity of Apple News+ subscribers, ensuring greater privacy.

Apple also said it would offer a credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs to be integrated with Apple Pay, and that digital payments would be launched for transit systems in the United States.

source: news.abs-cbn.com