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Apple on Monday charged into the artificial intelligence craze with a new iPhone lineup that marks the company’s latest attempt to latch onto a technology trend and transform it into a cultural phenomenon. The four different iPhone 16 models will all come equipped with special chips needed to power a suite if AI tools that Apple hopes will make its marquee product even more indispensable and reverse a recent sales slump. Most of Apple’s AI functions will roll out as part of a free software update to iOS 18, the operating system that will power the iPhone 16 coming out in December. English will be the featured language at launch but an update enabling other languages will come out next year, according to Apple. Although Apple is releasing a free version of its operating system to propel its on-device AI features, the chip needed to run the technology is only available on the iPhone 16 lineup and the high-end iPhone 15 models that came out a year ago.

Persons: Siri, Tim Cook, Apple, ”, Paolo Pescatore, OpenAI Organizations: Apple, Samsung, Google, Apple Intelligence, Samsung Galaxy Locations: Cupertino , California, Monday’s

☆ Apple is losing ground in China. Here's how the iPhone 16 can help.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-07 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wang Gang/Getty ImagesIt's worth noting that in its 15-year history with the iPhone in China, Apple has been the dominant force in the smartphone market. Other local smartphone manufacturers, including Honor, Xiaomi, and Vivo, have also seen gains over the past year. The upcoming iPhone 16 will introduce users to Apple Intelligence, its new suite of generative AI features, first introduced at its June Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple is betting on Apple Intelligence to boost iPhone sales. The company is seeking a local partner to bring more advanced chatbot features to Apple Intelligence in China.

Persons: —, Tim Cook, It's, Wang Gang, Apple, Xiaomi, Cook, ChatGPT, Wedbush, Paolo Pescatore Organizations: Service, Apple, Weibo, Business, China Apple, Huawei, Pura, Apple Intelligence Apple, Apple Intelligence, Foresight Locations: China, Shanghai, He'll, Cupertino

☆ Samsung launches the Galaxy Ring — a first-of-its-kind product for the tech giant
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Samsung Galaxy Ring has the ability to track various health metrics such as heart rate. Arjun Kharpal | CNBCPARIS — Samsung launched the Galaxy Ring on Wednesday, its first foray into "smart rings." Exercise: The Galaxy Ring can detect the kind of workout or activity a person is doing. The Samsung Galaxy Ring will be available on July 24 and starts at $399.99. Samsung ecosystem playOn Wednesday, Samsung also took the wraps off its latest smartwatches — the Galaxy Watch7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Persons: Arjun Kharpal, —, Paolo Pescatore, Pescatore, Kharpal, Francisco Jeronimo, Apple, Ben Wood Organizations: Samsung, CNBC PARIS, Apple, PP Foresight, CNBC, Galaxy, Wednesday, Galaxy Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Korean, IDC, CCS Insight Locations: Paris, France, Europe, East, Africa

☆ Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss: German prince accused of leading coup plot goes on trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Inke Kappeler | Sana Noor Haq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, 72, is accused of leading the plot, which would have led to him becoming Germany’s head of state. Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a former judge, attends the Frankfurt trial on Tuesday. The former lawmaker allegedly led co-defendants around the Reichstag parliament to scout the site for a coup plot. In addition to the five judges, two others will be on standby for the Frankfurt trial in the event of a long-term absence. Malsack-Winkemann, an ex-lawmaker for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, allegedly led several co-defendants around the Reichstag building scouting the location.

Persons: Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, Birgit Malsack, Frank, Walter Steinmeier, Kai Pfaffenbach, Maximilian Eder, Ruediger von Pescatore Organizations: CNN, Bundestag, Reuters, Frankfurt, Public Locations: Frankfurt, German, Stuttgart, Munich, Germany, Hesse

☆ AI is accelerating the recruitment process — but tech leaders warn of bias and other risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-20 | by ( Nicholas Fearn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

HR and recruitment teams are beginning to use AI tools in multiple stages of the hiring process. But beware: AI recruitment can still be riskyWhile AI technology is helping recruiters in many ways, there are some risks to consider and mitigate. In 2022, researchers at Cambridge University found that AI recruitment tools weren't capable of eradicating bias or boosting diversity during the hiring process. These problems often arise because of biased historical data used for training AI recruitment technologies, Maynard said. Jackson recommended that companies develop strict policies governing the use of AI hiring tools and provide their recruitment teams with bias training.

Persons: —, Lindsey Zuloaga, HireVue, Pamela Maynard, Avanade, Maynard, Paolo Pescatore, Alexandra Levit, Levit, Roger Philby, she'd, it's, Annie Jackson, Cleo, Jackson, Parul Mishra, It's, Mishra Organizations: Service, Tech, Business, Chemistry Group, Sheffield Business School, Cambridge University, Amazon, Unilever, Microsoft, Companies, IBM

Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed Disney + logo, in this illustration taken January 20, 2022. For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, Disney reported adjusted per-share earnings of 82 cents, topping an average forecast of 70 cents, according to LSEG data. The company said it added nearly 7 million Disney+ streaming subscribers in the quarter, with the inclusion of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar together boast 150.2 million subscribers, ahead of Visible Alpha's estimate of 147.4 million. "Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we've made over the past year," Iger said in a statement.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Walt Disney, Bob, Kevin Lansberry, Iger, Disney, Nelson Peltz, Trian, Paolo Pescatore, Paul Verna, Verna, We've, Dawn Chmielewski, Lisa Richwine, Chavi Mehta, Peter Henderson, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, ABC, Disney, Guardians, Trian, Management, Warner Bros Discovery, SAG, Insider Intelligence, Hulu, ESPN, Shanghai Disney, Walt Disney, Disney's Entertainment, Star, Big Ten, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Florida, India, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

Almost 9 million subscribers joined Netflix around the globe in the third quarter, surpassing Wall Street analysts' forecast for 6 million, according to LSEG. The strong performance showed Netflix was thriving despite Hollywood labor tensions that shut down a large swath of U.S. production. Netflix increased the U.S. price of its premium ad-free plan by $3 per month to $22.99. Substantial subscriber gains came in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where Netflix added nearly 4 million subscribers. Netflix programming accounted for 8% of television screen time, second only to YouTube, the company said, citing Nielsen data.

Persons: Ted Sarandos, Sarandos, Paolo Pescatore, Mike Blake, Prince Harry's, Meghan Markle, Lisa Richwine, Aurora Ellis, Bill Berkrot, Leslie Adler Organizations: Netflix, Wall Street, Comcast, Brothers, Investors, REUTERS, USA, YouTube, Nielsen, Thomson Locations: United States, Britain, France, Los Angeles , California, U.S, Europe, East, Africa

[1/2] The Netflix logo is shown on one of their Hollywood buildings in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 12, 2023. The company picked up nearly 9 million new customers around the globe, surpassing the 6 million consensus forecast of Wall Street analysts surveyed by LSEG. The one-stream basic plan rose by $2 per month. GLOBAL PRICE HIKESIn Britain, Netflix increased the basic plan price by 1 pound to 7.99 pounds. Netflix projected fourth quarter revenue of $8.69 billion fell slightly below the $8.77 billion forecast of analysts polled by LSEG.

Persons: Mike Blake, Walt Disney, Paolo Pescatore, Lisa Richwine, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Netflix, Street, LSEG, Investors, Warner Bros Discovery, LSEG . Media, YouTube, Nielsen, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, United States, Britain, France, Hollywood

NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Australian media magnate whose creation of Fox News made him a force in American politics, is stepping down as leader of both Fox's parent company and his News Corp. media holdings. Fox said Thursday that Murdoch would become chairman emeritus of both companies, effective at board meetings in November. Stock in Fox Corp., while positive this year, began to decline early in 2022, due in part to lawsuits and investor anxiety over the loss of viewers to smaller media outlets. While Murdoch never ran for political office, politicians in the United States and Britain anxiously sought his approval. Murdoch dismissed them as isolated instances that were “largely political because we're conservative.”Shares of News Corp. and Fox rose Thursday in early trading.

Persons: — Rupert Murdoch, Fox, Murdoch, Lachlan, Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, Michael Wolff, ”, Paolo Pescatore, ” Murdoch, James, Elisabeth, Prudence, Donald Trump, Wolff, Trump, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Britain's, Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, ___, Kelvin Chan, Jill Lawless Organizations: Fox News, News Corp, Fox Corp, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Street Journal, New York, Walt Disney Co, Marvel, Geographic, Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Stock, “, Foresight, HBO, Forbes, Florida Gov, Sky, Sunday Times, Sun Locations: Adelaide, Australia, United States, Britain, Sky, London

☆ CNN taps media veteran Thompson as CEO to spearhead turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With Thompson, Warner Bros Discovery is turning to an executive with ample experience at the top level, unlike Licht - a former TV producer who had worked on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" and MSNBC's "Morning Joe". During his 8-year tenure as the CEO of the Times, Thompson helped transform the Gray Lady into a beacon for newspapers in the internet age by focusing on digital subscriptions. "Mark is a true innovator who has transformed for the digital age two of the world's most respected news organizations," Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav said. CNN Max is looking to capitalize on the immediacy of breaking news and analysis, differentiating it from CNN+, which featured lifestyle programs. Those estimates are for the CNN networks that operate in the United States, including CNN en Español and CNN International.

Persons: Mark Thompson, Neil Hall, Thompson, Chris Licht, Donald Trump, Stephen Colbert, David Zaslav, Joe Biden, Ron Desantis, CNN Max, Paolo Pescatore, Licht, Jeff Zucker, Aditya Soni, Chavi Mehta, Shinjini Organizations: BBC, REUTERS, Warner Bros Discovery, CNN, New York Times, Republican U.S, Times, Trump, Democratic, Warner Bros, Atlantic, P Global Market Intelligence, Español, CNN International, Fox News, MSNBC, Nielsen, Thomson Locations: London, Florida, Trump, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Samsung launches two new folding smartphones to fend off competition from rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. Galaxy Z Flip 5The star of the show in Samsung's new folding phone portfolio is its new Galaxy Z Flip 5. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5's standout feature is a much larger cover display. Galaxy Fold 5The Samsung Galaxy Fold 5. Galaxy Tab S9(From left) The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Fold 5, Galaxy Watch 6, and Galaxy Tab S9.

Persons: Ryan Browne, phonemakers, Oppo, who've, Ben Wood, It's, Paolo Pescatore, Le Xuan Chiew, There's Organizations: Samsung, CNBC Samsung, Wednesday, CNBC, CNBC Foldables, Huawei, Motorola, Lenovo, IDC, CCS Insight, Google, Android, PP Foresight, Apple, Global, Galaxy, Windows Locations: Korean, foldables

☆ Suspect Showed Troubling Signs Before Philadelphia Rampage, D.A. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Joel Wolfram | Campbell Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A search of his home, said Robert Wainwright, an assistant district attorney, turned up a will that Mr. Carriker had written, dated June 23. Mr. Wainwright did not say what was in the will. Mr. Wainwright said at least one of the seven people who shared a house with Mr. Carriker had recognized that he was becoming more disturbed. But officials encouraged people to report troubling behavior anyway, suggesting that Mr. Carriker might have gotten help had the authorities known of his behavior. After a 2004 misdemeanor conviction for carrying a gun without a license, Mr. Carriker had apparently spent his life largely off the radar of local law enforcement.

Persons: Carriker, Robert Wainwright, Wainwright, Carriker’s, Joanne Pescatore Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Pennsylvania

☆ Vodafone and Three merger faces scrutiny from competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinised by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets. "The government's desire to make the UK a 5G powerhouse requires a lot of investment," he said. One London-based investment banker, who declined to be named, said he put the chance of the deal receiving the green light from regulators at 50%. A major telecoms investor said the deal could be approved, but only with strong remedies, and that could risk undermining its rationale.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Activision Blizzard, Hutchison, Paolo Pescatore, Peter Broadhurst, Moring, James Gray, Sarah Cardell, Robert Finnegan, Gray, Paul Sandle, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Hutchison, O2, Vodafone, CK, HK, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, Ofcom, European Commission, Foresight, Hutchison's, UK plc, Victoria, Crowell, CMA, Reuters, National Security and Investment, Britain's, Tesco Mobile, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Britain, Europe, China, London, Germany

"This would be the nail in the coffin for Huawei in Europe," said Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight. China has asked for Huawei to be one of the main points on the agenda, one of the sources familiar with the matter said. Germany's China hawks expressed outrage in March when a Reuters story revealed that German state rail operator Deutsche Bahn was using Huawei gear to digitalise its operations. Berlin in 2021 passed a law setting high hurdles for makers of telecommunications equipment for the "critical components" of 5G networks. It is estimated it would cost billions of euros to rip out and replace Huawei equipment in European countries, potentially burdening telecom companies already sitting on huge debts.

Persons: Paolo Pescatore, Andrew Small, Mikko Huotari, Sweden's, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Supantha Mukherjee, Foo Yun Chee, Sergio Goncalves, Mark Potter Organizations: European, Huawei, Deutsche Telekom, Foresight, Deutsche Bahn, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Telecom, Nokia, Sweden's Ericsson, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, STOCKHOLM, Germany, Brussels, Berlin, Beijing, Europe, China, China's, Denmark, Portugal, West, U.S, Stockholm, Lisbon

[1/3] A man looks at his phone as he passes by a screen advertising Walt Disney's streaming service Disney+ in New York City, U.S., November 12, 2019. The division ended the quarter with an operating loss of $659 million, compared with $1.1 billion in the prior quarter. At the same time, total subscribers to the flagship Disney+ service dropped by 4 million to 157.8 million. Inge Heydorn, a fund manager at GP Bullhound, said a question for investors is: "are the trade offs from lower marketing costs leading to lower subscribers?" "We've only just begun to scratch the surface of what we can do with advertising on Disney+," Iger said on a conference call with analysts.

The company plans to expand its streaming offerings by the end of the year with a new app that combines Disney+ and Hulu, Chief Executive Bob Iger said. Total subscribers to the flagship Disney+ service dropped by 4 million from the previous quarter to 157.8 million. Most of the defections came from the Disney+ Hotstar offering in India after it lost streaming rights to Indian Premier League cricket matches. "Striking a fine balance between customer acquisition versus financial performance is no easy feat." As Disney tries to build streaming, its traditional television business faces hurdles.

Revenue and earnings for the first quarter came in roughly in line with the average analyst estimates from Refinitiv. Shares of Netflix dropped as much as 11% in after-hours trade following the report but recovered to gain 1.4%. From January through March, Netflix added 1.75 million streaming subscribers, missing analyst estimates of 2.06 million additions. The clampdown on password sharing will begin in the United States during the current quarter, Netflix said. UBS media analyst John Hodulik wrote that the password- sharing crackdown could well fuel Netflix's nascent advertising business, as it drives these "sharers" to the lower-priced version of the service.

A DB spokesperson told Reuters that under current IT security legislation it did not have to run network components by Germany's cybersecurity office, the BSI, unlike public telecoms network operators. A BSI spokesperson said it was not aware of any law that determined the DB IT systems as "critical components". A Huawei spokesperson said the firm would never harm any nation or individual. The December contract with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is for Huawei tech like switches and routers. A government source said it had detected some operators had already built in Huawei critical components without waiting for a BSI green light and could be required to replace those.

Google , Netflix , Meta , Apple , Amazon and Microsoft generate nearly half of all internet traffic today. Big Tech firms say this would amount to an "internet tax" that could undermine net neutrality. They bemoaned spending billions on laying cables and installing antennas to cope with rising internet demand without corresponding investments from Big Tech. One suggestion is to require individual bargaining deals with the Big Tech firms, similar to Australian licensing models between news publishers and internet platforms. "The imbalance is not down to Big Tech, it's not down to streamers, and it's not down to telcos.

☆ Layoffs are a nail in the coffin for whatever the metaverse is
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Last week saw both Apple and Microsoft pause on speculative projects involving augmented reality and virtual reality, per reports. Apple has postponed its much-rumored augmented reality glasses because of technical challenges, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported. The metaverse was already a loose concept, a catch-all term for a vague theory that augmented reality and virtual reality is the future of computing, despite little evidence to back this up. Microsoft, reasonably early to the market with its HoloLens headset, has run into issues with one of its biggest customers: the US military. It's possible augmented reality and virtual reality devices do become popular among certain types of consumer, such as enthusiasts or gamers.

Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark echoed that sentiment in a interview: "Our exit will be complete. "This will allow us to organise modern production of telecoms equipment in Russia," he said, without naming the operators or producers. Government programs to promote Russian equipment have helped telecoms operators become less reliant on Nokia and Ericsson over the past several years and Russian producers have increased their market share this year to 25.2% from 11.6% in 2021. Russian telecom operators stockpiled foreign-made parts in February and March ahead of sanctions, two of the industry sources said, but inventory will drop after Nokia and Ericsson pull the plug Dec. 31. Consolidation between Russian operators at the behest of the government might also allow them to share equipment and resources to make the networks last longer, industry sources added.

Musk also suggested Apple had threatened to block Twitter from its app store, although he did not explain why. loadingSpotify has previously submitted antitrust complaints against the iPhone-maker in Europe, and Epic Games sued Apple in the United States in 2020. The European Commission has been investigating whether Apple's rules for app developers violate its rules after Spotify filed an antitrust case against Apple in 2019. "Apple continues to disadvantage competitors, and the impact is huge - on consumers, app developers, and now, authors and publishers. Apple, Twitter and Spotify did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

☆ Disney's Iger may have to cut costs as streaming loses money
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Bob Iger must show Wall Street a new side to his character as he returns to lead Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) by cutting costs and restoring profits in just two years after splurging cash on acquisitions and a streaming business last time round. The entertainment giant shocked investors late on Sunday evening announcing the ouster of Chief Executive Bob Chapek and appointing Iger, 71, to a two-year contract to return the company to growth. read moreThe move evoked other return engagements such as Steve Jobs' return to Apple and Howard Schultz's return to Starbucks in times of crisis. The most immediate target of that could be Disney+, the streaming service that Iger helped launch in 2019. Some brokerages have also raised concern on whether the two-year period Iger has agreed to return for would be enough to transform the business and find a successor.

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said on Tuesday its marquee streaming service, Disney+, gained more subscribers than Wall Street had expected, but investment costs dragged quarterly earnings below analysts' targets. Disney is spending billions to build its streaming options and compete with Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and others. Disney+ reported 164.2 million subscribers in the fiscal fourth quarter, surpassing Factset estimates of 161 million. Disney has amassed 235 million subscriptions across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ streaming services, a gain of 14.6 million from the previous quarter. For the fiscal year, Disney reported per-share earnings of $3.53, excluding certain items, on revenues of $82.7 billion.

☆ Apple's ad business is quietly expanding into streaming ads and sponsorship, as it pitches $4 million packages for Major League Soccer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple's advertising empire is extending into its Apple TV service. Apple's advertising empire is set to expand beyond the App Store when Apple TV begins broadcasting Major League Soccer for ten seasons beginning February 2023 — a global deal that is costing Apple $250 million per season. The next tier comes at $3 million and the last tier was described by one person familiar as more "a la carte," in which advertisers can cherry-pick a smaller number of specific placements. The Apple TV app will host an exclusive MLS streaming service, and Apple TV+ customers and MLS season ticket holders will be able to access it for free. Today, that business is mostly focused on search ads in the App Store, as well as ads within its News and Stocks apps.

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