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☆ Apple supplier Foxconn expects decline in consumer electronics demand, prioritizes global growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Major Apple supplier Foxconn reported a 10% year-over-year decline in profit for 2022 and anticipated a decline in consumer electronics demand for the full year ahead, the company said in its earnings report Wednesday. The negative sentiment reflected Apple's muted expectations for consumer sales. The company added iPhone sales will decline less in the March quarter compared to the Dcember quarter. Taiwan-based Foxconn is a major manufacturer for consumer technology firms, but is best known for its relationship with Apple, which relies on Foxconn to produce and assemble its iPhone, among other products. The Chinese government has since pulled back on the most aggressive of its Covid protocols, but Apple and other major technology companies have emphasized to suppliers a need to diversify beyond China.

☆ 'Sea of sameness': Are smartphone makers out of ideas?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

From bulky phones with antennas and handsets that flip open, to modern devices connected to the internet, the mobile phone market has evolved dramatically since its creation in 1973. In a lot of ways, they're core to how we live our lives, and we've developed a dependence on them. Beyond flashy cameras and more efficient chips, phone makers are struggling to find ways to entice consumers the same way they did years ago. "We now live in this kind of sea of smartphone sameness," said Ben Wood, chief analyst at tech research firm CCS Insight. "I think we have moved to a point now with mobile phones where people aren't kind of rushing out saying, 'I really want to get that new phone,'" Wood said.

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.

☆ Next-gen mobile internet — 6G — will launch in 2030, telecom bosses say, even as 5G adoption remains low
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"We have not completed the deployment of 5G yet," Ha Min Yong, chief development officer of SK Telecom , told CNBC last week. However, after hundreds of billions of dollars of investment into 5G networks, carriers have struggled to see the return. I don't see any use cases today that we can't do with 5G or its immediate evolutions," Watson told CNBC last week. Many of the current 5G networks are built on top of equipment and technology from 4G. There will also be more software that powers 5G networks helping with efficiency such as the management of data traffic.

☆ Apple may launch mixed reality device this year — but we're not scared, HTC CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Cher Wang, chairperson, co-founder and CEO of HTC, speaks at a keynote on the second day of the Mobile World Congress 2023. BARCELONA — The boss of consumer electronics firm HTC thinks Apple is going to launch its own mixed reality headset, but she's not worried about the competition. Speaking with CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, HTC CEO and co-founder Cher Wang said the Cupertino tech giant was likely to launch a mixed reality, or XR, product "very soon" — potentially as soon as this year. In January, Bloomberg reported that it is gearing up to release a mixed reality headset in the spring. "Apple and the entire industry realizes the potential and hence want to enter and eventually lead this segment," he added.

☆ The war in Ukraine has shown the value of tanks, but militaries are now looking to stock up on slimmed-down versions of them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Even before the war, some militaries were developing "light tanks" to complement heavier main battle tanks. Light tanks are seen as filling a capability gap between main battle tanks and other armored vehicles. Though not as powerful or as heavily armored as main battle tanks, light tanks are increasingly seen as filling a capability gap between full-fledged tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Light tanksA US Army M24 Chaffee light tank on a street near Bologna, Italy in April 1945. NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty ImagesThat capability gap stirred interest in light tanks, and over the past decade, three major militaries have adopted new designs.

The government said the BBC had failed to respond to repeated requests to clarify its tax affairs related to the profits and remittances from its Indian operations. The documentary, which was only broadcast in Britain, accused Modi of fostering a climate of impunity that fuelled the violence. Reuters spoke to eight Indian journalists, industry executives and media analysts who said that some media which reported critically on the government have been targeted with inspections by government agencies, the suspension of state advertising, and the arrest of reporters. Modi's government has vigorously denied the BBC tax inspection - the first against an international news organisation in decades - was a response to the film. Gupta said there had been complaints after the government reduced its advertising spending but that was not an assault on media freedom.

☆ There’s hope beyond moaning for European telcos
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Pierre Briancon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The annual Barcelona tech fest this week was in line with tradition, but a different mood music could also be heard beyond the bleatings of European telco executives. The good news for them is that European competition authorities seem to have been mollified by the constant pleading, and could take a softer approach to consolidation in the industry. Höttges compared the 55 billion euros invested by European telcos on infrastructure last year to the 1 billion euros invested in connectivity by those he calls the “hyperscalers”. The hope is now that, considering the European telcos’ low return on investment, European competition authorities will review their strict stance on consolidation in the sector. But European telcos also have means to address some of the problems they are facing without giving the impression that everything depends on forces beyond their control.

☆ Apple's advertising business is expanding into new areas this year such as TV. Here are 14 behind-the-scenes Apple executives building its advertising empire.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Right now its roughly $5 billion-in-revenue ads business largely consists of search ads sold within the App Store. We asked more than a dozen advertising industry insiders and former Apple advertising staffers to identify the most important executives building Apple's advertising business. Teresi's ascent coincides with the explosive growth of Apple's ad business in recent years. A former Yahoo and Quantcast staffer, Crawford first joined Apple in 2011 to work on global operations for iAd. Lauren Fry - Apple TV+ ad salesApple hired Fry, a TV and video ad sales veteran, in February this year, The Information reported.

☆ SoftBank's Arm to pursue U.S.-only listing this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of British semiconductor and software design company Arm is pictured at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on March 2, 2023. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP) (Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)British chip technology firm Arm, owned by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank , said on Friday it will pursue a U.S.-only listing this year, ending speculation about a primary or a secondary listing in the U.K. Still, the company did not completely rule out an eventual London listing, saying it intended to consider a subsequent IPO there in due course, without providing further details. Arm is the world's biggest supplier of chip design elements used in smartphones, selling intellectual property to companies such as Apple and Qualcomm . "After engagement with the British Government and the Financial Conduct Authority over several months, SoftBank and Arm have determined that pursuing a U.S.-only listing of Arm in 2023 is the best path forward for the company and its stakeholders," Arm Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas said in a statement.

☆ Huawei spin-off Honor takes aim at Samsung in foldables; shrugs off U.S. sanction concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Honor Magic Vs is on display at Honor's stand at Mobile World Congres in Barcelona. The near $1,700 device is Honor's attempt to challenge Samsung in the foldable smartphone market. Honor takes aim at Apple and SamsungHonor launched its Magic Vs foldable phone outside of China this week, with a price tag of nearly $1,700. Honor had a large poster for the Magic Vs with the tagline: "Unfold your magic." "Our ambition and target is develop the best foldable phone, so be the number one technology for foldable phones.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Apple, Meta, Costco, Marvell, C3.ai and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Costco Wholesale — The retailer's shares dropped 3.4% after the company's fiscal second-quarter earnings missed analysts' expectations. Marvell Technology — The chip stock lost 7.3% after Marvell Technology reported mixed quarterly results and provided weak guidance. The move comes after Bumble announced it would price a secondary offering of 13.75 million shares of its common stock at $22.80 per share. The company earned an adjusted 37 cents per share, above the 29 cents expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. The company posted a loss of 6 cents per share, compared to Refinitiv analysts' estimates for a 22 cent loss.

☆ The New Tech That Will Take Us Beyond the Smartphone. Maybe.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Joanna Stern | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BARCELONA—It’s a tough time for the smartphone market. Not that you’d know from the 2,000-plus exhibitors and 80,000-ish attendees jammed into a conference center for MWC, the mobile-tech show formerly known as Mobile World Congress. Everyone seems to have optimism about the future, abuzz with buzzwords to sell it. The rules of Buzzword Bingo are simple. As fast as you can, scan the trade-show floor and spot all the acronyms: 5G!

☆ At least 20 torture centers in Kherson were directly financed by the Kremlin, international lawyers say in a new report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A photo of a hallway in a building where Russian forces established a torture center in Kherson. In November, Ukrainian forces liberated the southeastern city, once home to more than 280,000 people. A photo of a cell used by Russian forces to detain Ukrainian civilians in the southeastern city of Kherson, Ukraine. A U.N. report previously outlined grisly accusations of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Pierre Crom | Getty ImagesSurvivors also said in interviews with lawyers that electric shock torture and waterboarding were common tactics used by Russian forces at the torture centers.

☆ EU's Vestager says scrutiny of competition in metaverse already needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - The metaverse, shared virtual worlds accessible via the Internet, is the next digital market to attract regulatory scrutiny, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday. "It's already time for us to start asking what healthy competition would look like in the metaverse," Vestager said a conference organised by Keystone Strategy. Vestager asked whether it would change the equation when there are competing digital realities and language AI models like ChatGPT. She said regulatory scrutiny of digital markets has been escalating worldwide in the last three years. "And there's a much wider political debate that digital markets need careful attention.

☆ China gears up to compete with SpaceX's Starlink this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Nacho DoceBEIJING, March 2 (Reuters) - China's military-industrial complex is set to start building its first constellation of very low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites later this year, the latest Chinese bid to catch up with U.S.-based Starlink. Starlink, operated by billionaire Elon Musk's Space X, has built a fast-growing network of more than 3,500 satellites in low-Earth orbit. LEO satellites have the added advantage of being cheaper and providing more efficient transmission than satellites at higher orbits. While CASIC and others have already launched their first LEO satellites, the gap with Starlink is likely to remain large throughout the next decade. Analysts estimate that China currently has no more than several hundred LEO satellites in operation and it would only reach 4,000 by 2027.

☆ A South Korean telco giant has its own A.I. chatbot — and says it's a 'super app' version of ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company has integrated its various service from music streaming to e-commerce into A. and is planning to launch it fully in 2023. Download our app, and we'll do basically everything you want us to do and more," Davis said. A "super app" is a concept pioneered by Chinese technology giants, such as Tencent with its WeChat messaging service. The idea is that a person only needs one app, and that several third-party services are accessible via that app. Super apps are popular in China and in parts of Asia, but haven't taken off in Europe and in the U.S.

High-yield savings accounts reward you with higher interest rates than traditional savings accounts and allow your money to grow faster thanks to compound interest — which lets you earn interest on interest. While rates can fluctuate over time, high-yield savings accounts generally offer APYs over 10 times greater than the national average on savings accounts. To determine which high-yield savings accounts are the best overall, CNBC Select analyzed and compared dozens of savings accounts offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best high-yield savings accounts.) Our methodologyTo determine which high-yield savings accounts offer the best return on your money, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. savings accounts offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions.

☆ Samsung is 'working out' a roadmap for mixed reality devices as rumors of an Apple headset swirl
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this article SSNLF Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTSamsung is working out a roadmap for its mixed reality products, according to a senior executive. In 2015, the company launched a virtual reality headset called the Gear VR (pictured). Now Samsung is looking for a new direction in mixed reality, an area tech giants think could mark a huge shift in computing. Patrick Chomet, an executive vice president at Samsung Electronics, told CNBC in an interview that the company is "working out" a roadmap for mixed reality products. Qualcomm sells a series of chips called Snapdragon XR specifically designed for mixed reality products, such as headsets.

☆ Qualcomm CEO says he’s expecting Apple to use its own modems in iPhones in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple is moving to in-house 5G modem chips for its 2024 iPhones, as far as the chief executive of Qualcomm — which currently produces them for the tech giant — is aware. "We're making no plans for 2024, my planning assumption is we're not providing [Apple] a modem in '24, but it's their decision to make," Cristiano Amon told CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Apple's most recent iPhone 14 models use Qualcomm modems, but the company has been looking to go solo in the wireless connectivity market for some years. It bought Intel's modem business in 2019 and there had been speculation it would begin using in-house parts this year. Amon did not confirm whether Apple would pay Qualcomm QTL licenses if it moves to its own modems, but said royalty was "independent from providing a chip."

☆ The popularity of ChatGPT is a 'milestone' in establishing Qualcomm as an A.I. company, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The explosive popularity of ChatGPT is an opportunity to show off the capabilities of artificial intelligence on smartphones, according to chip company Qualcomm 's chief executive. "This is the milestone we've been waiting for to establish Qualcomm as an AI company," Cristiano Amon told CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Developed by research company OpenAI, chatbot ChatGPT has been shared widely online, as users ask it to answer questions, generate text or provide detailed, responsive information. Qualcomm recently released videos of text being used to generate AI images on an Android phone, which it also demonstrated at the conference. "For you to make that happen, you can't run everything in a data center, you're going to have to bring the AI to the devices."

☆ 'Father of the cell phone' says one day we'll have devices embedded under our skin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Martin Cooper received a lifetime achievement award at MWC this week to mark 50 years since he made the first phone call on Sixth Avenue. BARCELONA, Spain — One day phones will become devices integrated into our skin, rather than the black rectangular slabs we've become accustomed to, according to the inventor of the cell phone. Such devices won't need to be charged, as "your body is the perfect charger," Cooper said. "When you eat food, your body creates energy, right?" "You ingest food, your body creates energy.

☆ South Korean startup rival to Nvidia seeks $400 million valuation and plans new A.I. chip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sapeon was spun off from South Korea's SK Telecom in 2022 and is raising outside investment. BARCELONA, Spain — Sapeon, a South Korean artificial intelligence chip startup headquartered in California, is raising a funding round that puts its valuation above $400 million, its CEO told CNBC. The startup is backed by massive South Korean firms SK Telecom, memory-chip maker SK Hynix and SK Square, an investment company spun off of SK Telecom. But a number of established players such as AMD and startups like Sapeon, are looking to challenge Nvidia. Analysts at Bernstein expect ChatGPT to be a multi-billion dollar boon for chipmakers looking to fuel these AI models.

☆ Motorola confirms a new foldable version of the iconic Razr smartphone is coming this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Motorola plans to launch the next generation of the Razr foldable device "very soon," according to the CEO of Lenovo. Motorola rebooted the iconic Razr brand in 2020 as a device with a bendable screen. BARCELONA, Spain — A new version of the foldable Motorola Razr will be launched this year, according to the CEO of Chinese technology giant Lenovo which now owns the brand. The Razr is one of the brand's most iconic mobile phones and was first launched by Motorola in 2004. Yang said this is where the next generation of Razr phone would see improvements.

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