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☆ Here's why Apple stock is still worth holding despite Wall Street's shortsightedness
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Asked a double-edged question: "What can you do to make my Apple stock go up." On Friday, we had so many storylines going it is hard to get your head around Apple's Vision Pro launch and its import. Most of all, however, the customer satisfaction level allows him to experiment with something really radical: the Vision Pro. No one is buzzing about how Apple can't meet demand for the Vision Pro. People walk in an Apple store on the day the Vision Pro headset goes on sale in Los Angeles, Feb. 2, 2024.

Persons: Apple's, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Matt Horween, Tim Cook, Cook, AirPods, Goldman Sachs, Apple, Ray, that's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Mike Blake Organizations: Costco, Apple, Meta, Apple's Vision, Web Services, Reality Labs, Dow Jones Transportation, Federal Reserve, Huawei, Vision, Major League Soccer, CNBC Locations: China, Republic of China, Los Angeles

☆ Apple's sales plunged in China — these are the iPhone giant's 5 biggest problems right now
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty ImagesApple is facing renewed challenges in China, one of its most critical markets. The iPhone giant's sales in the greater China region in the December quarter fell nearly 13% to $20.8 billion. "This increased competition exerts pressure on both Apple's older models and the base models of its new series." For a long time, Apple has been seen as a luxury brand in China with high appeal among younger audiences. GeopoliticsAnd like many foreign technology firms operating in China, the specter of geopolitics constantly hangs over.

Persons: Tim Cook, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Will Wong, Shah, Josh Koren, CNBC's, Gen, Koren, Apple Organizations: Economic Cooperation, APEC, Apple, AFP, Getty, Huawei, IDC, CNBC, Musketeer Capital Partners, Samsung, Bloomberg Locations: Asia, San Francisco, China, Cupertino , California, 4Q23, Xiaomi

☆ Tim Cook is finally talking about AI on his own terms
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Everyone has been waiting for Tim Cook to talk about Apple's foray into AI. The comments come as Apple's Big Tech rivals benefit from their early moves in the technology. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementIt's been a long time coming, but Tim Cook is finally talking about artificial intelligence on his own terms. CEO Satya Nadella described the period as one in which the company "moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale."

Persons: Tim Cook, —, It's, Mark Zuckerberg, Josh Edelson, Satya Nadella, Mark Gurman, John Giannandrea, Craig Federighi, Cook, Christoph Dernbach, Goldman, Mike Ng, We've Organizations: Big Tech, Service, Apple, Apple's Big Tech, —, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Getty, Vision, Apple Vision Pro, Huawei Locations: AFP, China

☆ Apple will report earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Apple reports fiscal first-quarter earnings after the bell. Investors will be closely watching to see if Apple guides to growth again in the current quarter. Some analysts believe Apple's iPhone revenue may look good in a soft market quarter, outperforming rivals that are also seeing weak demand. But a strong quarter of iPhone sales over the holiday season could mean a seasonally weak March quarter. "We remain comfortable with our current assumption of muted uptake for the device under 1% of Apple sales this year and next," Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a note Wednesday.

Persons: Tim Cook, Samik Chatterjee, Apple hasn't, Apple, Morgan Stanley, Erik Woodring, IPhones, Chatterjee, Rosenblatt, Barton Crockett Organizations: Apple, Management, Vision, JPMorgan, Apple Watch, Huawei, Amazon, Apple's, CNBC PRO Locations: Cupertino , California, China, F1Q24, U.S, F4Q, C4Q

☆ Pacific Islands Need to Boost Digital Security to Join Undersea Cable, Says US Official
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kirsty NeedhamSYDNEY (Reuters) - Pacific Islands nations that want to connect to U.S.-funded undersea cables will need to secure their digital ecosystems to guard against data risks from China, a senior U.S. State Department official said. The United States pledged last year to jointly fund two undersea cables, to be built by Google, connecting the U.S. territory of Guam with hubs in Fiji and French Polynesia, and further branching out across remote Pacific Islands. The proposed intra-Pacific cable project has offered to branch out to Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Fiji, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and the Federated States of Micronesia. China and the U.S. are jostling for influence in the Pacific Islands with competing offers for infrastructure. The Solomon Islands, which struck a security pact with Beijing, is rolling out a Chinese-funded mobile network built by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.

Persons: Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Nathaniel Fick, Kirsty Needham, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Pacific, U.S . State Department, United, Google, Futuna, Federated, The U.S . Department of, Washington, Sydney, Huawei, Telstra, Microsoft, U.S Locations: U.S, China, Guam, Fiji, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Wallis, Federated States, Micronesia, The, Solomon, Beijing, Australia, Asia, Pacific

☆ China is building its own AI at a rapid pace
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chinese tech giants are racing to catch up with US firms like OpenAI in the AI arms race. Over 40 AI models have been approved for public use by the government, per local news reports. China has tight controls on AI , with tech companies required to "adhere to socialist values." Unlike their US rivals, Chinese companies that develop their own chatbots face political as well as technological challenges. That has meant that many of the country's most advanced AI models have a tendency to avoid sensitive topics, such as the status of Taiwan.

Persons: —, Ernie, OpenAI's, Bytedance, China's, Ernie Bot Organizations: Service, Reuters, Baidu, Google, Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, Bloomberg Locations: China, Taiwan

☆ Apple iPhone shipments may see 'significant decline' in 2024, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Alex Koller | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook holds a new iPhone 15 Pro during the Wonderlust project launch event at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, Sept. 12, 2023. Kuo wrote that Apple's weekly shipments in China have dropped by 30% to 40% from a year earlier in recent weeks, "and this downward trend is expected to continue." "Apple may have the most significant decline among the major global mobile phone brands in 2024," Kuo wrote. Samsung has upped shipments of its new Galaxy S24 series this year by 5% to 10% as it sees "higher-than-expected" demand thanks to its AI-powered features, Kuo wrote. Apple, meanwhile, has lowered its shipment forecast for the iPhone 15 in the first half of 2024, he added.

Persons: Tim Cook, Ming, Chi Kuo, Kuo, Huawei's, Apple didn't Organizations: Apple, International Securities, Samsung Locations: Cupertino , California, China

☆ Baidu's Ernie AI chatbot to power Samsung's new Galaxy S24 smartphones
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy S24 smartphones during a media preview event in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Samsung, the world's most prolific smartphone maker, is leaning into artificial intelligence as the key to unlocking greater sales this year. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBaidu AI Cloud will be integrating its Ernie chatbot into Samsung's Galaxy S24 smartphones, allowing users to translate calls in real time, among other features. Ernie is the Chinese tech giant's answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence technology that's able to generate humanlike responses to users' prompts. Baidu claims it is the "most powerful version of Ernie foundation model to date," with the full capabilities of understanding, generation, reasoning, and memory.

Persons: SeongJoon Cho, Ernie chatbot, Ernie, OpenAI's, Apple Organizations: Samsung Electronics Co, Samsung, Bloomberg, Getty, Baidu, Samsung's, Apple, IDC, Vivo, Huawei Locations: Seoul, South Korea, China

☆ Apple's iPhone is the bestselling smartphone in China despite stiff competition from local competitor Huawei
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Apple's iPhone was the bestselling smartphone in China for the first time last year. Apple had a record market share of 17.3% in 2023, International Data Corporation figures showed. Local competitor Huawei trailed behind Apple's 20% market share in Q4 with 13.9% of the market share in the year's final quarter, per the data. Huawei previously outpaced Apple's iPhone 15 with its Mate 60 Pro smartphone, released just weeks before Apple's new model, Jefferies analysts said. Preliminary data from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker showed that China smartphone shipments totaled 271.3 million units in 2023, a decline of 5.0% from 2022.

Persons: —, Tim Cook, Arthur Guo, Apple Organizations: Apple, International Data Corporation, Huawei, Service, Local, Apple's, Jefferies, IDC China, IDC, Business Locations: China

☆ Apple takes top spot in China's smartphone market for the first time as Huawei returns to the top 5
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Apple's overall smartphone shipments fell 2.2% year-on-year in 2023, while the overall market fell 5%, IDC said. China's smartphone market has been hit because of an uncertain economic environment in the country and weak consumer spending. In 2023, Honor, a spin-off from Chinese company Huawei, held the second spot with 16.8% market share, followed by Vivo, Huawei and then Oppo. Another market research firm called Counterpoint Research also came out with China numbers on Thursday. Counterpoint said it expects the China market to record low single-digit year-on-year growth in 2024, the first year of growth since 2018.

Persons: Tim Cook, Justin Sullivan, Arthur Guo, Apple Organizations: Getty, Apple, International Data Corporation, IDC, Huawei, IDC China, Vivo, Research Locations: Cupertino , California, China

☆ 5 huge challenges facing Apple this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Behind in generative AI. A recent Reuters report noted iPhone sales in China dropped 30% in the first week of the year amid pressure from rival Huawei. Still, Barclays downgraded Apple stock earlier this month citing disappointing iPhone 15 sales in China and softening demand for the latest iPhone. Apple also faces challenges around the upcoming rollout of the Vision Pro headset, which will be its riskiest product launch in years. Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks during a launch event for the new Apple iPhone 15 at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on September 12, 2023.

Persons: ”, David McQueen, ALY, Dan Ives, Apple, Justin Sullivan, Jitesh, IDC –, that’s, It’s, Siri, McQueen, “, Ming Yeung, Tim Cook, Nic Coury, hasn’t, Brian Fung, Clare Duffy Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Apple, ABI Research, Huawei, Reuters, Apple Watch, International Trade Commission, IDC, Meta, Google, Samsung, Mac, Barclays, Apple Inc, Getty, EU, Markets, Epic Locations: China, Shanghai, Cupertino , California, Milan, Italy, AFP

☆ iPhone grabs top share in China and analyst negativity abates. What's going right at Apple
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

After a rough early start to 2024 and lots of analyst negativity, Apple has turned the corner. The iPhone captured a firm-record 17.3% market share in China last year, according to the International Data Corporation's quarterly phone tracker report . 1 spot in China, Apple made the rare move of offering limited-time iPhone 15 discounts there during this month. Last week, IDC crowned Apple as the biggest smartphone maker in the world , dethroning Samsung for the first time ever. And, just about two weeks ago, we reported that the Street hadn't been this cautious on Apple stock in years.

Persons: Apple, Arthur Guo, Piper Sandler, Apple's, Goldman Sachs, we're, Jim Cramer, Tim Cook, Apple —, Jim, that's, Preorders, Jim Cramer's, Berke Bayur Organizations: Huawei, Vivo, Apple, IDC, Samsung, Barclays, Redburn, Club, Microsoft, Bank of America, Big Tech, CNBC, U.S, Getty Images, Anadolu, Getty Locations: China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, ANKARA, TURKIYE, Ankara, Turkiye, Anadolu

The Espoo, Finland-based company reported net profit of 568 million euros ($619 million) for the October-to-December quarter, down from 929 million euros in the same period a year earlier. Nokia is one of the world’s main suppliers of 5G, the latest generation of broadband technology, along with Sweden’s Ericsson, China’s Huawei and South Korea’s Samsung. Nokia's net income attributable to shareholders came in at 558 million euros in the fourth quarter, down from 931 million euros the previous year. Nokia’s sales also fell 23%, to 5.7 billion euros from 7.5 billion euros. “Looking ahead, we expect the challenging environment of 2023 to continue during the first half of 2024, particularly in the first quarter,” he said.

Persons: China’s, Pekka Lundmark, ” Organizations: HELSINKI, Nokia, 5G, Sweden’s Ericsson, China’s Huawei, South, Samsung, eBay Locations: Espoo, Finland

☆ SAP is restructuring 8,000 jobs as it shifts focus to AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —One of Europe’s most valuable companies is restructuring 8,000 jobs as it joins a growing list of firms shifting their focus to artificial intelligence. SAP (SAP), the enterprise software giant, announced Tuesday that it would spend €2 billion ($2.2 billion) this year on the transformation, including buyouts and retraining programs. “The majority of the approximately 8,000 affected positions is expected to be covered by voluntary leave programs and internal re-skilling measures,” SAP said. Last summer, it announced investments in three generative AI companies, adding to a pledge to invest more than $1 billion to fund AI-powered enterprise tech startups. Many US tech firms have also announced large investments in AI as they kick off sweeping reorganizations.

Persons: Christian Klein, Alibaba Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, SAP, Wipro, Huawei, US Locations: Hong Kong, New York

☆ China’s EV players ramp up competition with Tesla using new tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

CNBC | Evelyn ChengBEIJING — Hot competition in China's electric car market is pushing local automakers to sell vehicles with fancy tech that Tesla doesn't yet offer in the country — and sometimes at lower prices. Tesla's cars don't come with those accessories, and Elon Musk's automaker only offers a limited version of its driver-assist tech in China right now. Xpeng 's G9 SUV, widely considered a leader in China for driver-assist tech on city streets, starts at 289,900 yuan. That's because electric car batteries and other parts aren't made in the U.S., which means American companies are already paying a premium for core components of the electric car, Li said. Traditional foreign auto giants like Volkswagen are struggle to adjust to the surge of electric cars in China, while domestic companies, including smartphone company Xiaomi and Geely-backed startup Zeekr, are rushing to release electric cars.

Persons: Evelyn Cheng, Tesla, Elon, Li Yi, Aito, Li Auto, Yiming Wang, Wang, Li, wasn't, Appotronics, aren't, BYD, Zhong Shi, Omer Ganiyusufoglu Organizations: CNBC, Elon Musk's, Huawei, HSBC, Consumers, China Renaissance Securities, Price, U.S ., U.S, China Automobile Dealers Association, BYD, Volkswagen, German's National Academy of Science, Engineering Locations: Evelyn Cheng BEIJING, China, Shenzhen, Europe, Shanghai, U.S, Tesla

☆ Tesla is taking the Cybertruck on a tour of China — but it won't be on sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla is taking the Cybertruck on a tour of China, per a company WeChat post reported by Reuters. However, it's unlikely to be on sale in China soon, with Elon Musk saying it'll be hard to make legal. It comes as Tesla tries to fight off a new wave of competition from Chinese EV makers such as BYD. Elon Musk's company is taking the Cybertruck on a tour of China to show off its futuristic pickup, according to a company post on WeChat reported by Reuters . Elon Musk has previously hinted at the plan, posting on X on Sunday that Tesla could ship some Cybertruck prototypes to China for display.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, —, Elon, Frederic J . Brown, Warren Buffett, Xiaomi, Musk Organizations: Reuters, Service, Elon Musk's, Geely, Huawei, New York Times, Business Locations: China, North America, AFP

☆ Apple's problems are piling up ahead of its biggest launch in nearly a decade
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But it's battling problems with the Apple Watch, falling iPhone sales in China, and developer fury. All of which have put Apple in a difficult position ahead of its biggest launch in nearly a decade. AdvertisementWith the Vision Pro hitting shelves in two weeks, Apple should be laser-focused on what's set to be its most significant launch since 2014. In China, Apple's biggest international market for its smartphone, sales have plummeted in recent months. These are clearly problems Apple could do without ahead of its looming Vision Pro launch.

Persons: —, Michael M, Joe Kiani, Apple, Wang Gang, – Organizations: Apple, Apple Watch, Service, International Trade Commission, Appeals, Federal Circuit, Business, Bloomberg, Games, Wall Street, Vision Locations: China

☆ Huawei sets up new smart car company in Shenzhen, China as it gets more serious about autos
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Michelle Toh | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The company incorporated Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co Ltd on Tuesday in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where Huawei is based. The news marks another milestone for Huawei, which has accelerated its automotive ambitions in the past three years. But it has been hobbled in recent years by US export restrictions, which sent the company into a tailspin. The unveiling coincided with a launch by Chinese rival Xiaomi of its own first electric car, showing how competition between the two companies has spilled over to another sector. In November, a subsidiary of Changan, a Chinese state-owned automaker, disclosed that it had partnered with Huawei to form a new company created to provide smart car systems.

Persons: Elon Musk’s Tesla, Warren Buffett Organizations: Taipei CNN, Huawei, Intelligent Technology Co, Elon, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, Changan, Shenzhen Yinwang, Automotive, Ministry of Industry, Information Technology, Economic Locations: Hong Kong, Taipei, Shenzhen, China, Changan, Chongqing, United States, Davos, Switzerland

☆ Apple flexes its new No. 1 smartphone maker status and makes a rare move in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Apple became the world's largest smartphone maker in 2023 for the first time ever. Despite a rough start to 2024, we think the company can build on this momentum in the U.S. and China. Apple's frontrunner status was confirmed in separate industry research reports from International Data Corporation (IDC) on Monday and Canalys on Tuesday. To be sure, Apple's iPhone is facing intensified competition in China as domestic players like Huawei and Xiaomi have started offering high-end alternatives. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: Apple, Canalys, Nabila Popal, Will Apple, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Eduardo Munoz Organizations: Samsung, International Data Corporation, IDC, IDC's, Huawei, Apple, Big Tech, Microsoft, Xiaomi, Apple Watch, CNBC Locations: U.S, China, India, New York

☆ China's population keeps falling — and that's more bad news for the world's 2nd-largest economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewChina's population fell again last year – and that's a worrying sign for Beijing policymakers already grappling with deflation, a property crisis, and anemic economic growth. It's the second consecutive year that China's population has shrunk after six decades of rapid growth. Here's why dropping population numbers pose a threat to the world's second-largest economy. Worrying dataChina's population fell in 2022 for the first time since the 1960s – and Wednesday's statistics showed that the same thing happened again last year. A declining population is also bad news for real estate, which accounts for a quarter of China's economy and 70% of household wealth.

Persons: —, lockdowns, They've, they'll Organizations: Service, Business, National Bureau, Statistics, World Health Organization, Apple Locations: Beijing, China, —, Japan

☆ Apple overtakes Samsung as top seller of smartphones
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The new Apple iPhone 15 on display inside the tech giant's flagship store in Regent Street, central London. A slower-than-expected recovery in China, the world's largest smartphone market, also weighed on overall phone sales. Apple and Transsion were the only brands in the top five to record growth in shipments last year, when the market declined 3.2% to 1.17 billion units and hit a decade low. Apple, however, is facing pressure in China from a resurgent Huawei as well as from budget Chinese brands. The iPhone-maker is offering rare discounts of as much as 5% on some models in the country to attract customers.

Persons: Jonathan Brady, Apple, China's Xiaomi Organizations: Apple, Samsung Electronics, International Data Corp, Samsung, IDC's, Huawei Locations: Regent Street, London, China

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Rivian, Amazon, Netflix, Ford, Rocket Lab & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Citi reiterates Apple as buy Citi said it's standing by its top pick status on Apple shares. UBS downgrades Ford to neutral from buy UBS said it sees limited upside to estimates. TD Cowen downgrades Fisker to market perform from outperform TD said it sees too many growing pains for Fisker. KeyBanc initiates Rocket Lab as overweight Key said it sees upside for the rocket satellite company. "We initiate coverage on Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ: RKLB) with an Overweight rating and $8 price target, reflecting ~50% upside."

Persons: Jefferies, Tesla, Elon, Ford, TD Cowen downgrades Fisker, JPMorgan downgrades Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley, it's, Christine Barone, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Davidson downgrades Teladoc, Key, Evercore, Wolfe, Piper Sandler, TGT, BURL, SolarEdge, Mizuho, William Blair, it's bullish Organizations: Citi, Apple, Huawei, UBS, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Bros, Rocket Lab, Lithia, Dealers, Susquehanna, JetBlue Spirit, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, EV, CART, Target, Barclays, Boeing, Airbus, Mizuho, Amazon, " Bank of America, Netflix Locations: China, 2Q24, 3Q24, Burlington

☆ Apple steals the smartphone crown from Samsung, ending a 12-year run
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple was the top dog in the global smartphone market for 2023, according to IDC shipments data. It's the first time a company has overtaken Samsung in worldwide smartphone shipments since 2010. Apple closed out 2023 with record-high smartphone market share despite the overall market for phones decreasing. Apple is the "biggest winner" of the year in the smartphone race, IDC research director Nabila Popal said. Overall, the smartphone market declined 3.2% year-over-year — a decade low, according to the IDC.

Persons: Apple, —, Tim Cook, Nabila Popal, Popal, Cook, Barclay Organizations: IDC, Samsung, Apple, Service, International Data Corporation, Huawei Locations: China

☆ Apple is offering rare iPhone discounts in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Apple is offering temporary discounts on its iPhones and other products in China, in an extremely rare move for Apple that comes as competition within Asia’s smartphone market grows more intense. Although third-party sellers at times discount Apple products, Apple itself very rarely offers deals or sales, part of its effort to maintain a premium brand image – something that has been particularly important as Apple seeks to attract high-end buyers in China. The new discounts on the iPhone in China are raising fresh questions about how demand for Apple products is faring recently in the world’s second-largest economy. China has long been a key market for the iPhone maker, with roughly one-fifth of Apple’s overall sales last year coming from China. Last week, Apple lost its status as the stock market’s most valuable company, taking a back seat to Microsoft.

Persons: Yong Xiong Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, Mac, Huawei, Wall Street Journal, Research, Jefferies Research, Reuters, Microsoft Locations: New York, China

HONG KONG (AP) — Technology company Baidu on Monday refuted a newspaper report that said its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie was linked to Chinese military research. The paper stated that the division had tested its artificial intelligence system on Baidu’s Ernie and on artificial intelligence firm iFlyTek’s Spark, both of which are language-based AI chatbots similar to ChatGPT. “Ernie Bot is available to and used by the general public,” the Chinese company said in its statement. Like ChatGPT, users can pose questions or requests to Ernie Bot, which would then generate content based on the initial prompt. The Beijing-headquartered firm said in December that it had more than 100 million users for Ernie Bot.

Persons: Ernie, Baidu, Ernie Bot Organizations: — Technology, Baidu, Hong, China Morning, People’s Liberation Army cyberwarfare, PLA Information Engineering University, China Morning Post, PLA, Huawei, U.S Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, U.S, China, Taiwan, Beijing

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