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☆ Apple's patent for a new kind of iPhone could boost sales, UBS says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As speculation grows over the possibility Apple is working on a foldable iPhone or tablet, UBS took a look at the boost the company could get from such a device. The technology giant received a patent Tuesday for electronic devices with display and touch sensor structures, with the patent abstract specifically noting a "foldable electronic device" that might have a "flexible transparent wall portion that joins planar transparent walls." Drawings submitted with the application show "an electronic device with multiple foldable sections," Vogt said. Vogt said that a foldable smartphone could help Apple's rate of customers purchasing and upgrading. The company missed analyst expectations for iPhone revenue in its fourth quarter , while major retailers in China cut prices.

☆ Samsung unveils new Galaxy smartphone lineup with powerhouse camera
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The new lineup, which includes the 6.8-inch Galaxy S23 Ultra, 6.6-inch Galaxy S23+, and 6.1-inch Galaxy S23, look similar to last year’s models, but with new photo features, a longer lasting battery life (with faster charging speeds) and an exclusive chip. The cameras on the Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 even have a subtle new look: the contour housing has been removed, which Samsung said marks a new era of design. The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s display comes with a reduced curvature to create a larger and flatter surface intended to improve the visual experience. Galaxy S23 Ultra, which comes with Samsung’s signature S pen, will start at $1,199.99, while the Galaxy S23+ starts at $999.99 and Galaxy S23 starts at $799.99. “The Galaxy S23 family demonstrates just how hard it is to tell a new story in today’s smartphone market,” said Leo Gebbie, principal analyst at CCS Insight.

"AMD remained resilient and even made gains in their datacenter chips...against Intel," said Wayne Lam analyst at CCS Insight. Chief Executive Lisa Su said she was confident AMD will keep gaining market share this year and that the second half would be stronger than the first. "First quarter should be the bottom for us in PCs and then grow from there into the second quarter and then into the second half," Su said on the earnings call. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $5.50 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Analysts on average expected revenue of $5.48 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Folding iPad will launch in 2024, top Apple analyst Kuo says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple will slow the pace of iPad releases for the rest of 2023, with an eye toward releasing a foldable iPad by 2024, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote Monday. "I'm positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix," Kuo wrote on Twitter. Kuo's prediction aligns with a report from analyst firm CCS Insight, which wrote in October that Apple would launch a foldable iPad before it launches a foldable iPhone. In 2021, Kuo had predicted the release of a foldable iPhone in 2024, the same year he now predicts a foldable iPad to launch instead. Kuo said he expects a foldable iPad to feature a carbon fiber kickstand sourced from Chinese manufacturer Anjie Technology .

"Everything hinges on the PC market recovery. Meanwhile, the data center market has also slowed from double-digit growth as businesses cut costs to ride out an economic slowdown. The company forecast first-quarter revenue in the range of about $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion. The company expects an adjusted loss of 15 cents per share versus expectations of a 24 cents per share profit. Revenue in the fourth quarter fell 32% to $14 billion.

"Everything hinges on the PC market recovery. AMD isn’t immune to this either," said Wayne Lam, an analyst at CCS Insight about Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O). Shares of other microchip companies fell as well, with AMD down 2.4% and Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) down 2%. PC shipments fell 16.5% to 292.3 million units in 2022, per data from research firm IDC, forcing chipmakers to cut back production and slash revenue forecasts. Meanwhile, the data center market has also slowed from double-digit growth as businesses look to cut costs to ride out an economic slowdown.

☆ Microsoft's $10 billion bet on ChatGPT's maker gives it a powerful new weapon in the cloud wars with Amazon and Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Cloud, increasingly important to Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, is slowing down in the short term. But the company has a longer-term strategic weapon that could help it win the cloud wars: its once-in-a-generation bet on OpenAI. Any hint of a slowdown in growth for Microsoft's Azure, Amazon's AWS, and Google Cloud tends to provoke analyst angst. Even if there are immediate challenges for cloud growth, Microsoft sees its OpenAI bet, reported to be worth $10 billion, as a bigger strategic move. Microsoft Cloud, which also includes revenue from Office 365 and other products as well as Azure, represented around 50% of the company's overall revenue.

☆ 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.

☆ Apple's upcoming headset will reportedly include auto-adjusting lenses and a dial to switch from VR to the real world
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple's anticipated mixed reality headset will have auto-adjusting lenses, The Information reported. It will also have a physical dial that the wearer can use to switch between VR and real life. The change to "xr," which stands for extended reality, signals that the headset will probably include both AR and VR capabilities. In December, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted that mass shipment of the Apple headsets could be delayed to the second half of 2023 "because of software-related issues." As of early December, sales for VR headsets declined 2% from the previous year, CNBC reported.

☆ Metaverse off to ominous start after VR headset sales shrank in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrates an Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset and Oculus Touch controllers during the Oculus Connect 3 event in San Jose, California, U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. With the ad business mired in a slump, Zuckerberg has been looking to VR devices and related technology to pull Meta into the future. Taken together, the estimates of VR headset sales and shipments create a problematic picture for Meta, whose stock price has lost about two-thirds of its value this year. Meta's Quest 2 headset, released in 2020, is by far the leader in the VR market, according to several analysts. VR headset revenue in the U.S. doubled in 2021 from about $530 million in 2020, according to NPD.

☆ App store avalanche forecast as Apple bows to EU demands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA) will force Apple and fellow tech giant Google to provide space for third-party app stores on their respective iOS and Android devices. Ben Wood, CMO of industry analysis firm CCS Insight, said he expects "an avalanche of app stores" in the near future. "There's an emerging 'coalition of the willing', and all of them have a vested interest in no longer having to pay what they see as a tax to Apple," Wood told Reuters. Deals for exclusive content could drive competition in app stores in the same way as it has in the "streaming wars" between Netflix and challengers like Disney+ and Amazon Prime, Trezentos said, adding: "Netflix has content that HBO doesn't have ... App stores can be like that." "The biggest hurdle they are going to need to overcome is the consumer," Wood at CCS Insight said.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Nvidia offers new advanced chip for China that meets U.S. export controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov 7 (Reuters) - U.S. chip maker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) said on Monday it is offering a new advanced chip in China that meets recent export control rules aimed at keeping cutting-edge technology out of China's hands. In late August, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O both said that their advanced chips, including Nvidia's data center chip A100, were added to the export control list by the Commerce Department. The Nvidia A800 can be used in place of the A100, and both are GPUs, or graphics processing units. "The Nvidia A800 GPU, which went into production in Q3, is another alternative product to the Nvidia A100 GPU for customers in China. At least two Chinese websites by major server makers offer the A800 chip in their products.

☆ Exclusive: Nvidia offers new advanced chip for China that meets U.S. export controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov 7 (Reuters) - U.S. chip maker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) is offering a new advanced chip in China that meets recent export control rules aimed at keeping cutting-edge technology out of China's hands, the company confirmed on Monday. In late August, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O both said that their advanced chips, including Nvidia's data center chip A100, were added to the export control list by the U.S. Commerce Department. The Nvidia A800 can be used in place of the A100 and both are GPUs, or graphics processing units. "The Nvidia A800 GPU, which went into production in Q3, is another alternative product to the Nvidia A100 GPU for customers in China. At least two Chinese websites by major server makers offer the A800 chip in their products.

☆ Why Apple may be working on a ‘hey Siri’ change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —Apple reportedly wants to put an end to “Hey.”The company is said to be training its voice assistant Siri to pick up on commands without needing the first half of the prompt phrase “Hey Siri.” The trigger phrase is used to launch Siri on various products, including the iPhone, iPad, HomePod and Apple Watch. “‘Siri’ is much shorter than ‘Hey Siri,’ giving the system potentially less comparison points and higher error rate in an echo-y, large room and noisy environments,” such as in the car or when wind is present. The move would allow Apple to catch up to Amazon’s “Alexa” prompt that doesn’t require a first wake word for its voice assistant. The company then integrated Siri into the iPhone 4S, which was released the following year, and introduced the ability to say “Hey Siri” without physically touching a button in 2014. “While the ‘Hey Siri’ change requires a considerable amount of work, it would be surprising if Apple announced only this change to Siri,” Sanders said.

☆ Elon Musk's SpaceX could spin off Starlink as public company by 2025, analysts predict
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk said Friday that SpaceX cannot continue fund Starlink terminals in Ukraine "indefinitely" in light of the cost. However, Musk, who is also CEO of electric car company Tesla, he said Saturday that SpaceX will keep funding the Ukrainian government "for free" even though Starlink is "still losing money." Elon Musk could spin Starlink off from SpaceX and carry out an initial public offering by 2025, tech analyst firm CCS Insight said in a report. Starlink uses satellite to provide broadband internet to users and is part of Musk's space exploration company. Wood said an initial public offering (IPO) will help drive investment into SpaceX, push international expansion and "make Starlink the go-to player for satellite broadband."

☆ Amazon debuts home insurance store in the UK in latest move into finance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON — Amazon will start selling home insurance in the U.K. through partnerships with three local insurers, further expanding the e-commerce titan's push into financial services. The company announced Wednesday it is opening a new service called Amazon Insurance Store. They're then shown a list of quotes from Amazon's insurance partners, along with reviews and star ratings from other customers. "When we set out to create the Amazon Insurance Store, we wanted to improve the experience for customers shopping for home insurance so they could easily compare options and make an informed, objective decision—just like shopping on Amazon." It's the first time the company has launched a store selling insurance.

☆ Apple to launch a foldable iPad rather than iPhone in 2024, analyst predicts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CCS Insight published its annual predictions report on Tuesday in which the group' analysts make forecasts about future products and trends. In the latest report, CCS Insight predicted Apple would launch a foldable iPad in two years' time rather than start with a foldable iPhone. "Right now it doesn't make sense for Apple to make a foldable iPhone. The analyst said that a foldable iPhone would likely need to cost around $2,500. Predictions about a foldable iPhone meanwhile have been around for at least four years.

☆ A folding iPhone, if it had any issues, would be an 'absolute magnet for criticism,' says analyst
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailA folding iPhone, if it had any issues, would be an 'absolute magnet for criticism,' says analystBen Wood of CCS Insight explains why that would be a "risky move."

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Deciding who gets hurt by sweeping new U.S. curbs on selling technology to China will come down in part to what constitutes a "supercomputer," experts told Reuters. Around the world, the semiconductor industry on Friday began to wrestle with wide-ranging U.S. restrictions on selling chips and chip manufacturing equipment to China. Shares of chip equipment makers drooped, but industry experts said a new U.S. definition of a supercomputer could be pivotal to the new rules' impact on China. The new definition is unlikely to change as industry technology improves. "The issue is that the definition of a supercomputer will change over time," he said by email.

☆ Apple stock drops on concerns about iPhone 14 demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN Business —Shares of Apple fell 4% in early trading Wednesday amid concerns about demand for the company’s latest lineup of iPhones. Apple (AAPL) is said to have abandoned efforts to increase production of its iPhone 14 lineup by 6 million units in the second half of this year after lower-than-expected demand, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The company is now said to be planning to produce about 90 million iPhone 14 units in that time period, roughly in line with the year prior, according to the report. The iPhone 14 went on sale earlier this month, with mostly incremental updates. But the biggest change is arguably the lock screen, which now has an always-on display, similar to Android devices.

☆ Huawei spin-off Honor to launch first foldable phone abroad as Chinese firm takes on Apple, Samsung
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-02 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Honor CEO George Zhao launched the company's Honor 70 smartphone in Europe during a virtual presentation at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany. Honor, which was spun off from Chinese technology giant Huawei in 2020, is trying to boost its market share outside of China. Honor, the smart devices company spun off from embattled Chinese tech giant Huawei, plans to launch a foldable phone in overseas markets as it looks to challenge Apple and Samsung on the global stage. Honor faces an uphill battle outside of China where it has less than a 1% smartphone market share. Alongside the upcoming foldable phone, Honor is placing emphasis on the more expensive premium end of the smartphone market outside of China.

☆ These 3 technologies will be key to Intel's business as it staves off competition from companies like AMD and Nvidia
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-03 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Under CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel is making new bets in chip manufacturing and open source software. Analysts say Intel's new foundry business, AI acquisitions, and x86 chips will be foundational. Competition among chip design rivals like AMD and Nvidia is heating up, while other chip startups are on the rise. Besides Mobileye, Intel has been expanding into building a wide array of AI chips, including through its acquisition of Nervana in 2016. Intel's x86 are foundational to its businessFinally, analysts say Intel's x86 chips have been and continues to be the bread-and-butter to its business.

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