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Tag: apple

  • AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid device

    AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid device

    Not to be outdone by the new AirPods 4 with ANC, Apple decided to upgrade the AirPods Pro as well, so that it can set them apart from the cheaper standard AirPods in an easier manner. What was Apple to add that the AirPods Pro didn’t already have?

    Well, register the AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid device with the FCC, of course! That’s right, the AirPods Pro will be approved as a hearing aid by the FCC this fall, and Apple will send a software update to unlock the feature.< Leveraging the power of AI, Apple will set apart noises from speech, emphasizing what you'd want to absorb if you are hard of hearing. Apple will soon push an update announcing a hearing test availability for the AirPods Pro, after which they will be able to take over as a personalized over-the-counter hearing aid for up to moderate hearing loss. The certified hearing test coming to iOS 18 and AirPods Pro 2 will take about 5 minutes and involve hearing a system of tones with different frequencies to determine your hearing loss scale slot. As usual, Apple has developed the AirPods Pro hearing aid feature with the help of clinical studies that examine a massive amount of real-world data, like it did when it introduced the ECG function on the Apple Watch, so it will probably work even better than advertised, negating the discomfort of carrying two types of hearing devices with you.

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  • Apple Intelligence could be used to make the Journal app more useful

    Apple Intelligence could be used to make the Journal app more useful

    Apple’s Journal app was launched with iOS 17.2. It’s a basic app that serves as a journal and helps you record your day. A new patent indicates that the Journal app may become more sophisticated in the future with the help of Apple Intelligence (Apple’s take on generative AI).

    The patent is filed with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) and reveals planned improvements for the Journal app. The patent illustrations hint at a possible deep integration with Apple Intelligence so you get some fancy smart suggestions.

    You already get some basic suggestions for memories based on photos, music, and places you’ve visited, as well as people you’ve messaged. But as noted by The Mac Observer, Apple Intelligence may take these suggestions to the next level.

    For example, the app would ask you to more proactively record in the Journal app when you finish a workout or if you take multiple photos in the same location. Also, the app may integrate usefully with calendar events and reminders.

    There could also be a new timeline interface: you would be able to see events of the same day as if in a chat.

    So far, Apple hasn’t announced anything Apple Intelligence-related for the Journal app. But many AI features are only in preview right now and I reckon many more are being worked on.

    I’d love to have more suggestions for the Journal app and using Apple Intelligence for it can elevate it. However, I do agree with 9to5Mac and believe that Apple should first bring the app to the iPad and Mac before it thinks of how to make it more attractive.

    Also, the patent doesn’t reveal a lot about the features that Apple Intelligence could bring to the app. I hope it will be more than a couple more suggestions to write.

  • Apple releases iOS 18 Developer Beta 5 with Distraction Controls for Safari

    Apple releases iOS 18 Developer Beta 5 with Distraction Controls for Safari

    Apple’s confusing airport departure board full of different iOS and iPadOS software Betas gets a little more complicated today as the company pushed out the fifth Developer Beta of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. Don’t confuse these newly released Betas with the iOS 18.1 Developer Beta that came with the Apple Intelligence Beta that was just released on July 29th.

    Available only in the U.S. right now for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Apple Intelligence Beta comes with some of the AI features that iPhone users have been waiting for since hearing about them at WWDC. Such features include the ability to summarize emails and websites, have AI change the tone of an email or text being written, and record a phone call and have it transcribed in the Notes app.

    Some features, such as the following, won’t be ready until next year. For example, Siri will eventually be able to access data on your iPhone so that the digital assistant can answer a query such as, “What time do I need to pick up my mom at the airport?” Siri will also be able to remove certain distractions from photographs similar to Google’s Magic Eraser. Apple Intelligence will allow rough sketches to be turned into images and custom emoji, known as Genmoji, can be created. Don’t forget that ChatGPT will also become available to compatible iPhone users in 2025.

    So right now, the Apple Intelligence features available in the iOS 18.1 Developer Beta won’t be ready for those not interested in joining the Beta program until October when the stable version of iOS 18.1 is released.

    The build number for iOS 18 Developer Beta 5 and iPadOS 18 Developer Beta 5 is 22A5326f. Apple today also released the watchOS 11 Developer Beta 5 with the build number of 22R5328e, the fifth Developer Beta of tvOS with a build number of 22J5335d, and the fifth Developer Beta of macOS 15 Sequoia with the build number of 24A5309e. The visionOS 2.0 fifth Developer Beta for the Vision Pro was dropped by Apple today with the build number of 22N5297g.

    Distraction Controls is a new feature available in the just released iOS 18 Developer Beta 5. Developed for Safari, it allows iPhone users to have certain distracting features removed from websites. These features include cookie preference popups, sign-in windows, banners to subscribe to a newsletter, and more. Each website will require you to choose the items you wish to have removed. Keep in mind that this is not an ad blocker and ads will reappear when a site is refreshed.

    To use Distraction Control, go to the page menu in Safari and tap on Hide Distracting Items. You then tap on the features you want removed which disappear from a webpage using a cool-looking animation. You can restore the hidden items by tapping on the Show Hidden Items option. The Betas also get rid of the carousel in the Photos app which was done due to user request.

    To update your iPhone or iPad to the fifth Developer Beta of iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 respectively, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Follow the directions to install the Beta.

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  • Google Photos to Apple iCloud Photos direct transfer tool rolling out next week

    Google Photos to Apple iCloud Photos direct transfer tool rolling out next week

    The users of Google’s Photos service will finally be able to send all of their media content collected there directly to Apple’s iCloud Photos. The Google Photos to iCloud Photos transfer tool is again provided thanks to the open-source Data Transfer Project (DTP) stack of the Data Transfer Initiative (DTI) that first made the reciprocal transfers from iCloud Photos to Google Photos a reality.
    The new tool will be available starting next week and, according to the new Apple and Google photo collection transfer guidelines, it will allow an easy and direct way to take your entire picture, album, and video collection with you by importing it into the competing service when getting a new device.
    If you got a new iPhone and want to bring your Google Photos content to iCloud, here’s what needs to be done:
    1. Go to Google Takeout and mark which albums you’d like to export
    2. Pick Apple – iCloud Photos as import service and sign in with your Apple ID.
    3. Tap Allow to share permission with Google to add photos and videos to iCloud.
    Alternatively, pick Photos under the Recently used Google services or Other Google services entries in your Google Account Dashboard, and tap the Transfer data button.
    Apple says that you will get a confirmation email when the Google Photos transfer is complete, while Google reminds that this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on the size and complexity of the transfer.
    Your photos and videos will then appear in the Photos app, all tucked in a dedicated album, with the name Import from Google and the date of the actual transfer. Since not all photos and videos can be indexed along with their metadata, if some appear missing, they will most likely be in a folder with the same name in your iCloud Drive storage system.
    The Data Transfer Initiative’s open-source Data Transfer Project technology stack counts Apple, Google, and Meta as its founding partners and provides tools like the direct Google Photos to iCloud Photos transfer for billions of their users.
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  • Apple gets blasted for its decision regarding AI in the EU

    Apple gets blasted for its decision regarding AI in the EU

    A little over a week ago we told you that Apple planned on keeping its new Apple Intelligence AI technologies out of iPhone units being sold in the European Union (EU). Apple is concerned that some of the AI features coming to certain iPhone models with the iOS 18 update could violate privacy regulations written into the EC’s Digital Market Act (DMA). Considering that such a violation could lead to a fine of as much as 10% of Apple’s $383 billion in global revenue for fiscal 2023, the tech giant would prefer to play it safe.

    Apple’s decision has angered Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, who said in a response to a question poised in a Q&A session, “So Apple have (sic) said that they will not launch their new enabled features in the IRS environment, and they say that they will not do that because of the obligations that they have in Europe. And the obligations that they have in Europe, it is to be open for competition, that is sort of the short version of the DMA. And I find that very interesting, that they say we will now deploy AI where we’re not obliged to enable competition. I think that is the most sort of stunning, open declaration that they know 100% that this is another way of disabling competition, where they have a stronghold already.”

    In other words, Vestager is accusing Apple of holding back its AI features in the EU because the company knows that Apple Intelligence wouldn’t be considered competitive by the EC. Apple realizes that if it never brings Apple Intelligence to the EU, its AI features cannot be accused of violating the DMA. Right now, Apple faces a huge fine after the EC announced last week that it made a preliminary ruling against Apple that says the company has violated the DMA due to the App Store.

    The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that its App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as they prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content. In addition, the Commission opened a new non-compliance procedure against Apple over concerns that its new contractual requirements for third-party app developers and app stores, including Apple’s new Core Technology Fee (CTF), fall short of ensuring effective compliance with Apple’s obligations under the DMA-European Commission

    Holding Apple Intelligence off the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the iPhone 16 series in the EU is certain to hurt iPhone sales in the region. However, non-AI changes to iOS 18, such as the ability to customize home screen app icons, will still be available to iPhone users in the EU. The hope is that Apple will eventually be able to add its new AI features to iPhone units in the market although that might require some compromise on the part of the EC and Apple.

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  • Apple Pay Later is shut down; replacement is coming later this year

    Apple Pay Later is shut down; replacement is coming later this year

    In March 2023, a preview of Apple Pay Later was unveiled allowing users to borrow from $50 up to $1,000 and repay the debt in four equal amounts over six weeks with no fees or interest charged. By last October, Apple Pay Later was available to all iPhone users. Loans were tracked and payments were made from the Wallet app. Wait, why did we use the past tense when writing about Apple Pay Later? That’s because the feature has been discontinued by Apple starting today. Any loans still open can be paid off via the Wallet app.

    Apple is expected to add new features to Apple Pay later this year including one that will show users installment loans that they can apply for from buy now, pay later firm Affirm, and from credit and debit cards.

    “Starting later this year, users across the globe will be able to access installment loans offered through credit and debit cards, as well as lenders, when checking out with Apple Pay. With the introduction of this new global installment loan offering, we will no longer offer Apple Pay Later in the U.S. Our focus continues to be on providing our users with access to easy, secure and private payment options with Apple Pay, and this solution will enable us to bring flexible payments to more users, in more places across the globe, in collaboration with Apple Pay enabled banks and lenders.”-Apple statement made to 9to5Mac

    While Apple Pay Later was available only to U.S. iPhone users, the new installment loans feature available later this year will be offered in various countries worldwide. During WWDC last week, Apple posted that later this year “The ability to access installments from credit and debit cards with Apple Pay will roll out starting in Australia with ANZ; in Spain with CaixaBank; in the U.K. with HSBC and Monzo; and in the U.S. with Citi, Synchrony, and issuers with Fiserv. Users in the U.S. will also be able to apply for loans directly through Affirm when they check out with Apple Pay.”

    Also looking ahead to later this year, Apple wrote, “Apple Pay introduces even more flexibility and choice for users when they check out online and in-app. Users can view and redeem rewards, and access installment loan offerings from eligible credit or debit cards, when purchasing online or in-app with iPhone and iPad. These features will be available for any Apple Pay-enabled bank or issuer to integrate in supported markets.”

    From the preview in March 2023, Apple Pay Later lasted 447 days. But from the full launch of the service last October, the feature lasted only eight months. My gut feeling is that Apple would rather offer the new installment loans feature coming later in 2024 possibly because it will be available in more countries rather than just the U.S.

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  • Apple Maps and Apple Music are getting these new features in iOS 18

    Apple Maps and Apple Music are getting these new features in iOS 18

    It almost felt as though Apple Music wasn’t invited to WWDC yesterday, and the app may look the same following the update to iOS 18. However, Apple Music will have a couple of new features that will kick in once you install iOS 18 on your iPhone. One new feature, called Music Haptics, uses the Taptic Engine on an iPhone to produce taps and vibrations that will match the song being played on Apple Music.

    This new feature is actually more important than you might think since it will help those who are deaf or have difficulty hearing “feel the music.” And that is why the feature will be found under the accessibility settings in iOS 18. After installing the latter, go to Settings > Accessibility > Music Haptics and toggle on the feature. You’ll also be able to test out Music Haptics.

    The other new feature allows those without an Apple Music subscription to have control over the music heard on a SharePlay session. Instead of requiring SharePlay users to have an Apple Music subscription, users can share control of music sourced from a HomePod, Apple TV, or any Bluetooth-enabled speaker. As Apple itself notes on its iOS 18 Services preview page, “Participants do not need to have an Apple Music subscription to contribute to what’s playing.”

    What changes are coming to the always-improving Apple Maps app in iOS 18? Suppose we told you that hikes and custom walking maps will be available. According to Apple, users will be able to browse through thousands of hikes found in U.S. national parks. These can be filtered by length, elevation, and route type and can be saved for those times when you’re offline. With just a few taps, users will be able to create a custom walking route whether it’s a local exercise route or a full-day walking tour in a city you’ve never been to before.

    With the all-new Places Library, you can save your national park hikes, custom walking routes, and other places and you’ll be able to add personal notes about each one. This way you can remind yourself about certain aspects of these routes that might be important to remember. And helping Apple Maps create these hikes and walking maps will be the app’s new ability to show topographic maps. These maps show the ups and downs of an area’s terrain in 3D shown on a 2D map.

    Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, said about Apple iPhone users, “We’re excited to give them even more to love about our services, like the ability to explore national parks with hikes in Apple Maps…and enjoy music with loved ones through SharePlay in Apple Music.”

    As you know, the iOS 18 developer beta is available now and the public beta will be available next month. The stable final version of iOS 18 will be available this September.

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  • Report reveals that Siri will never be the same once iOS 18 is released

    Report reveals that Siri will never be the same once iOS 18 is released

    Siri, as we know her, is never going to be the same once iOS 18 starts rolling out in September. And this Monday Apple will preview the changes it is making to its Virtual Digital Assistant and we are there for it. Hey, it’s not like Siri doesn’t work but she’s like the friend you knew in school who had the intelligence to be anything she wanted to be but never lived up to her potential.

    AppleInsider was able to discover everything that Siri will be able to do starting in iOS 18. According to the report, the native apps that will get the new Siri features include:

    • Books
    • Calendar
    • Camera
    • Contacts
    • Files
    • Freeform
    • Generative Playground (internal)
    • Keynote
    • Mail
    • Magnifier
    • News
    • Notes
    • Photos
    • Reminders
    • Safari
    • Stocks
    • System Settings
    • Voice Memos

    Inside these apps, Siri will be able to help you toggle switches and you’ll be able to make changes to an app using your voice instead of using your fingers. For example, in the Camera app Siri will be able to toggle on video recording, open up a specific photography mode including photo, portrait, video, slow motion, set a timer, and flip from the back camera array to the front-facing camera.

    Inside the Mail app, Siri will not only be able to place your email into categories like Commerce, News, Promotions, Social, Transactions, and Other, but she will also compose an email, un-send an email, reply to all recipients of an email, create smart replies to emails, summarize emails and more. The Smart Replies will be written by Apple’s on-device Large Language Model (LLM) although more complex responses will be handled by cloud-based servers.

    The Notes app is also benefiting greatly from Siri’s AI infusion and it will store audio recordings, transcriptions of said recordings, and even better yet, a summarization of the recording. Apple is also adding Math Notes which will allow the user to add complex math equations and graphs to a note.

    With the Photos app, you’ll be able to ask Siri to show you photos of certain individuals, pets, places, landmarks, and more. You can also request that Siri rotate a photo, rename an album, make copies, move photos to albums, hide photos with certain people, places, and things from a specific time, add filters to photos, and more.

    With Safari, the new AI-powered Siri will deliver summaries of the content on the screen, create and open tabs, and possibly feature “Web Eraser” which will remove text, images, and even ad banners on a website. Remembering which content you selected to erase on other sites, Safari would remove them from other webpages as well. Complaints from media organizations might force Apple to remove this feature before iOS 18 is released.

    It would be great if Apple used the new AI-laden Siri to pick stocks that are 100% certain to move higher, but alas, Siri will be limited to helping you create your watchlist and she will show you the latest business news. Other interesting non-AI upgrades include one that will allow users to add a note in Apple Maps to specific locations. For example, you could write a note to remind yourself not to order a specific entree at a certain restaurant because you got food poisoning the last time you ordered it. The notes would only appear for the person who wrote them.

    Another upgrade not related to AI has to do with a new calculator app for iOS that will, for the first time, work on the iPad. Called Project GreyParrot, it will include a sidebar showing the history of the current calculations and an improved method to convert unit measurements.

    The festivities start Monday, June 10th, starting at 10 am PDT/1 pm EDT. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for Apple to make some changes to Siri for years. Monday should be a very exciting day.

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  • Apple accelerates Southeast Asia expansion with Malaysia debut

    Apple accelerates Southeast Asia expansion with Malaysia debut

    Apple will open its first store in Malaysia next month as part of its expansion plans in Southeast Asia.

    Trevor Hill, the mall’s GM, confirmed on LinkedIn that the store will be located at the Exchange TRX shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur and will open its doors to customers on June 22 at 10 a.m.

    This will be Apple’s sixth store in the region, after three in Singapore and two in Thailand.

    According to the New Straits Times, the store will be much bigger than the existing Apple Premium Resellers in the country, such as Machines and Switch. It will also feature activities such as free learning sessions and sections like the Genius Bar, where users can get expert service and support for their products.

    Apple has been accelerating its Asian expansion outside of China, where it has faced rising competition from local players. The company opened its first stores in India last year.

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  • Apple reveals Beats Solo Buds’ launch date

    Apple reveals Beats Solo Buds’ launch date

    Apple introduced the Beats Solo Buds back in April but failed to provide fans with an actual launch date. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, as the Cupertino-based giant revealed this week that the Beats Solo Buds will hit shelves on June 20.

    In fact, customers can order the Beats Solo Buds starting on June 18 for $79.99, but the earbuds won’t ship until two days later. It’s also worth mentioning that the earbuds will be available in four colors: Matte Black, Storm Gray, Arctic Purple and Transparent Red. Remember that if you want the Arctic Purple version, you’ll only find those at Apple and Target.

    The Beats Solo Buds have a custom Beats chip inside that makes it much easier to pair them across iOS and Android with just one touch. The earbuds also feature both Apple and Google “find my device” functionality.

    Both buds have a button that allows users to control playback, answer calls and enable Siri, but it can be customized to offer other uses too. The Beats Solo Buds promise to “minimize micro-distortions across the frequency curve” thanks to the dual-layer transducers design.

    As far as battery life goes, Apple says the Beats Solo Buds should provide up to 18 hours of playback, which is hard to believe considering that similar earbuds offer around 6-8 hours of battery life.

    On the downside, the Beats Solo Buds doesn’t come with a charging case. The one that comes with the earbuds doesn’t feature a battery, so you’ll have to charge these the traditional way by plugging a USB-C cable into the case after you place the earbuds inside.

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  • Phone users will be able to customize the color of each app icon in iOS 18

    Phone users will be able to customize the color of each app icon in iOS 18

    We are getting closer to the June 10th Keynote at WWDC 2024 during which Apple will preview its AI initiative. Today, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed some more details about what we should expect from Apple in his latest Power On newsletter. Gurman says that Apple is calling part of its new AI strategy Project Greymatter which encompasses AI tools that will be added to core system apps such as Notes, Photos, and Safari and also includes enhanced notifications.
    As previously discussed, Apple would prefer to have AI features run on-device for speedier results and to protect users’ privacy. More complex tasks will run through the cloud and get worked on by data center servers powered by the M2 Ultra chip. The goal here is to create AI features that will make life a little easier for iPhone users. One new feature in the works will allow a user’s iPhone to create custom emoji based on what the user is texting. This will allow the iPhone user to have a custom emoji ready at his fingertips for any situation in addition to the regular lineup of emojis.
    If that doesn’t excite you, perhaps this will. Apple will allow iPhone users to not only change the color of app icons but also (better be sitting down) put them wherever they want on the screen. You’ll be able to quickly find all your social media apps if you make them a certain color, find all of your health-related apps, which you can make another color, etc.
    Another cool AI feature, one that I’m looking forward to seeing, adds AI-created summaries of notifications, messages, websites, news articles, and more. Additionally, users will be able to have more natural-sounding conversations with Siri as the virtual digital assistant receives a long-needed upgrade. The version of Siri that lives on the Apple Watch will also be very much improved to handle tasks and queries while on the go.
    The soon-to-be-formed partnership between OpenAI and Apple, which will bring the ChatGPT generative AI chatbot to iOS 18, will also be acknowledged at WWDC as Apple doesn’t want to appear that it is out of the loop during the year of AI. Apple’s own in-house chatbot is said to fall short of ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini which is why the company has been meeting with OpenAI and Google. Even though the latest word is that Apple and OpenAI are close to a deal, Apple still plans on inking one with Google as well just in case OpenAI’s controversial CEO Sam Altman does something, well, controversial.
    Back in January, Gurman said that the iOS 18 update will be one of the biggest updates in iOS history. Now, we are approximately two weeks away from what could be quite an exciting day for iPhone users.
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  • Apple’s iPhone production shift leaves ghost town in China

    Apple’s iPhone production shift leaves ghost town in China

    Apple supplier Foxconn’s industrial park in Nanning, Guangxi, has been deserted, heavily impacting the local economy, as production of the iPhone is being moved away from China.

    The facility, once the centerpiece of Nanning’s economy, now stands empty, while its surrounding streets and residential buildings remain largely vacant, as depicted in a video shared by news channel China Observer last Friday.

    Although some nearby apartments are available for occupancy, they have struggled to attract buyers despite offering discounts, as the area has lost its appeal now that most of the facility’s employees having left.

    During its heyday a few years ago, the complex boasted a workforce of 50,000 and consumed vast resources to sustain them.

    However, with Apple’s strategic decision to shift production away from China, the Nanning complex was among the first to face downsizing as it was deemed under-utilized by Foxconn.

    Foxconn, Apple’s primary supplier, has been shifting its production lines to other Asian nations in recent years amid tensions between the U.S. and China.

    One of these destinations is India, whose iPhone production has doubled from 2022 to $14 billion last year, accounting for 14% of the Apple’s total iPhone output.

    Meanwhile, iPhone production in Zhengzhou, Henan, where the largest iPhone factory is located, plummeted by 60.1% year-on-year to 6.65 million units in the first quarter, citing data from Zhengzhou’s local customs authority.

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  • Vietnam tops Southeast Asia in number of Apple suppliers

    Vietnam tops Southeast Asia in number of Apple suppliers

    U.S. company Apple had Southeast Asia’s highest number of suppliers in Vietnam last year and fourth highest globally.

    There were 35 suppliers as of the 2023 financial year (which ended on Sep. 30), according to the Supplier List announced by Apple recently.

    In Southeast Asia, Thailand (24 suppliers), Malaysia (19) and the Philippines (17) followed Vietnam.

    Globally Vietnam was behind China (158), Taiwan (49) and Japan (44).

    In 2016-23 Vietnam saw the strongest increase in the number of suppliers with the entry of Foxconn, Luxshare and others.

    There are factories in Vietnam that produce parts for Apple’s AirPods, iPad and Apple Watch.

    Analysts expect Vietnam to account for 65% of Apple’s Airpods, 20% of iPad and Apple Watch and 5% of Macbook by 2025.

    Apple CEO Tim Cook last week visited Vietnam and met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

    The company said it would buy more parts produced by suppliers in Vietnam and promised to support the country’s innovation efforts.

    China remains at the top of Apple’s supply chain, accounting for 42% of its production.

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  • EU set to approve Apple’s plan to open its NFC technology for rivals

    EU set to approve Apple’s plan to open its NFC technology for rivals

    Apple is gradually opening its ecosystem to competitors in the European Union. Just last week, the first third-party app store became officially available. Now, it appears that it’s time for Apple to open up its mobile wallet.

    The EU Commission is poised to greenlight Apple’s previously announced policy changes regarding access to the NFC chip on the iPhone. This move aims to foster competition in the contactless payments market. The commission’s decision is expected to be officially announced in the coming weeks.
    These changes mean that third-party apps can be the default wallet app that pops up when users double-click the side button and hold their phone near a payment terminal. Apple’s tap-and-go technology, called near-field communication (NFC), lets you make contactless payments with mobile wallets.

    Until now, Apple has tightly controlled access to the NFC contactless chip on the iPhone, citing concerns about user experience, privacy, and security. This has made Apple Pay the dominant contactless payment option on the iPhone, with virtually no competition.

    Two years ago, the European Commission accused Apple of stifling competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet by blocking rival mobile wallet app developers from accessing its tap-and-go technology.

    Apple’s attempt to settle the investigation by altering its policies would enable it to avoid a finding of wrongdoing and fend off a potential significant fine, which could amount to as much as 10% of its global annual turnover.

    And the Cupertino tech giant likely wants to avoid further fines, especially considering that just last month, the company received a hefty €1.84 billion (around $2 billion directly converted) fine, its first EU antitrust penalty. This fine was imposed for hindering competition from Spotify and other music streaming rivals through restrictions on its App Store.

    That being said, the inclusion of alternative contactless payment apps won’t be a completely unrestricted free-for-all. App developers will need to request entitlement from Apple to gain these privileges. They’ll also need to adhere to various industry standards and possess the necessary licenses to handle consumer payments to qualify.

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  • Apple CEO Tim Cook says it is considering a manufacturing facility in Indonesia

    Apple CEO Tim Cook says it is considering a manufacturing facility in Indonesia

    Apple will look into building a manufacturing facility in Indonesia, its CEO said on Wednesday after meeting President Joko Widodo, who hoped the tech giant would increase its local content by partnering with domestic firms.

    Apple chief executive Tim Cook arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday after visiting Vietnam. He met with Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, and will inaugurate its fourth developer academy on the island of Bali.

    “We talked about the president’s desire to see manufacturing in the country, and it is something that we will look at,” Cook told reporters after the meeting.

    Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, but since 2018 it has been setting up app developer academies, which including the new academy have a total cost of 1.6 trillion rupiah ($99 million).Indonesia’s industry minister, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, who also attended the meeting, told reporters that if Apple decided to build manufacturing facility in Indonesia, it would have the capacity to produce for export.

    “We will discuss how Apple’s facility in Indonesia could become a global supply chain,” he said, adding that the government said that even if Apple didn’t built a factory, it could partner with Indonesian companies to obtain components.

    Apple has met Indonesia’s 35% local content requirement to sell its products by investing in developer academies, Agus said, but the government hoped that number could be pushed higher with a manufacturing facility.

    Apple has based much of its key manufacturing of iPads, AirPods and Apple Watches in Vietnam; suppliers for MacBooks are also investing in the country.

    Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.

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