Apple Inc. – Page 2

Apple AI Chief points out new private browser search at Google trial

23Sep

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Technology

Apple AI Chief points out new private browser search at Google trial

[ad_1] John Giannandrea, a former top Google executive who decamped to Apple Inc. to head its artificial intelligence business, pointed out a quiet change in the latest iPhone software update that allows users to select a search engine other than Google's when browsing the internet in private mode.The iOS 17, released Monday, added “a second setting, so you could choose two different” search engines, Giannandrea said in testimony in federal court in Washington as part of the Justice Department's antitrust suit against Alphabet Inc.'s Google. The change means iPhone users can more easily switch between Google and a different search engine with a single tap. The difficulty of switching search engines has been hotly contested in US government's antitrust suit, which alleges that Google ill...

Google lost map traffic with Apple maps switch on iPhones, executive says

21Sep

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Technology

Google lost map traffic with Apple maps switch on iPhones, executive says

[ad_1] Two years after Apple Inc. dropped Google Maps as its default service on iPhones in favor of its own app, Google had regained only 40% of the mobile traffic it used to have on its mapping service, a Google executive testified in the antitrust trial against the Alphabet Inc. company.Michael Roszak, Google's vice president for finance, said Tuesday that the company used the Apple Maps switch as “a data point” when modeling what might happen if the iPhone maker replaced Google's search engine as the default on Apple's Safari browser. In a June 2020 email to his then-supervisor, Roszak shared data on how Apple's switch affected Google Maps usage on iPhones. “Almost 2 years later we were at ~40% of the prior peak (and assumed the actual loss was greater since Apple Maps usage was also...

Google Accuses EU of Overreach With €2.4 Billion Shopping Service Abuse Fine

20Sep

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Technology

Google Accuses EU of Overreach With €2.4 Billion Shopping Service Abuse Fine

[ad_1] The European Union's legal team hit back at Google's fight to strike out a €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) fine for unfairly favoring its own shopping services — telling judges at the bloc's top court that the case largely boils down to whom they should trust more.The Alphabet Inc. unit is appealing a 2021 ruling by the EU's lower tribunal that backed the European Commission's decision that the firm violated antitrust rules by favoring its own shopping service over those of its rivals. It was forced to change the way it displays shopping search results that might help rivals grab some of the valuable ad space on search pages. But ending an in-the-weeds debate about what legal test should have been correct in this case and the Brussels-based commission's understanding of what competit...

Google and Microsoft Are Supercharging AI Deepfake Porn

24Aug

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Technology

Google and Microsoft Are Supercharging AI Deepfake Porn

[ad_1] When fans of Kaitlyn Siragusa, a popular 29-year-old internet personality known as Amouranth, want to watch her play video games, they will subscribe for $5 a month to her channel on Amazon.com Inc.'s Twitch. When they want to watch her perform adult content, they'll subscribe for $15 a month for access to her explicit OnlyFans page.And when they want to watch her do things she is not doing and has never done, for free, they'll search on Google for so-called “deepfakes” — videos made with artificial intelligence that fabricate a lifelike simulation of a sexual act featuring the face of a real woman. Siragusa, a frequent target of deepfake creators, said each time her staff finds something new on the search engine, they file a complaint with Google and fill out a form requesting t...

Just How Deep Is Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Money Pit?

1Aug

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Technology

Just How Deep Is Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Money Pit?

[ad_1] When it comes to measuring the progress of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse, big numbers have been in short supply. Only 20 million of his Quest virtual reality headsets have sold since 2019. Only 200,000 users are reportedly active in Meta Platform Inc.'s flagship virtual reality experience, Horizon Worlds. Oh, actually, there is one big number: $21 billion lost on creating the Metaverse since the start of 2022.All this prompts an obvious question: Just how much money is Zuckerberg prepared to spend to make his Metaverse successful? Luckily for him, he doesn't have to answer that just yet. Meta's legacy business — selling online advertising — is roaring, with double digit revenue growth for the first time since the end of 2021. That's providing sufficient distraction to keep investor...

Investors Are Happy to Pay Premium for Tech, But Not for AI

31Jul

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Technology

Investors Are Happy to Pay Premium for Tech, But Not for AI

[ad_1] Investors on Wall Street and beyond are betting that the great tech rally of 2023 has staying power, even as they appear skeptical that the artificial-intelligence era will live up to the hype.Some 77% of the 514 respondents to the latest Markets Live Pulse survey are planning to either increase their exposure to technology stocks or keep it steady over the next six months. Meanwhile, less than 10% see a bubble in the sector bursting anytime soon. That bullishness has pushed the Nasdaq 100 to its best first half in history, ramping up market valuations and blindsiding pros on the Street. Yet while survey participants are likely riding the AI-fueled market melt-up thanks to their broad equity exposure, they aren't going all-in on the technology just yet. Half are disinclined to pa...

Amazon, Apple earnings to provide look at consumer habits

30Jul

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Technology

Amazon, Apple earnings to provide look at consumer habits

[ad_1] Consumer habits will come to the fore again in next week's earnings deluge, when Amazon.com Inc., Shopify Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. are expected to talk about online spending trends and Apple Inc. may comment on the outlook for iPhone sales.It follows a packed week that showed the US economy and consumer spending growing at a faster clip than expected, while corporate earnings delivered a few surprises of their own. Intel Corp. surged post-market after the chipmaker signaled its long-awaited comeback may be just around the corner; McDonald's Corp. and Mastercard Inc. also topped estimates. Thus far, US companies have registered the most earnings beats in almost two years, according to data tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence, and companies selling non-essential products and ser...

Chinese Smartphone market may remain weak through 2023, IDC says

28Jul

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Technology

Chinese Smartphone market may remain weak through 2023, IDC says

[ad_1] Chinese smartphone shipments fell 2.1% in the second quarter, extending a market decline that may persist throughout 2023, research house IDC said. The decline came despite widespread discounting during the “6.18” online shopping festival in June. Apple Inc. was one of the few brands that managed to grow business, by 6.1%, IDC estimated in its latest market report. Shipments from Honor Device Co. and Xiaomi Corp. both declined by more than 17% in the quarter, while Huawei Technologies Co. lifted shipments 76.1%, mainly via the premium P60 series and foldable devices. Oppo maintained pole position with 17.7% market share, followed by fellow Chinese brands Vivo and Honor. China's smartphone market, the world's largest, is struggling alongside a sputtering economy. Shipments have s...

French antitrust watchdog issues statement of objection over Apple app tracking

26Jul

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Technology

French antitrust watchdog issues statement of objection over Apple app tracking

[ad_1] France's antitrust watchdog said on Tuesday it had issued a statement of objection against Apple, citing concerns the U.S. technology company could have breached regulations linked to the use of iPhone user data for advertising purposes.The watchdog is concerned Apple might "abuse its dominant position by implementing discriminatory, non-objective and non-transparent conditions for the use of user data for advertising purposes", it said in a statement. The statement triggers an antitrust procedure during which the company will be able to express its point of view, the watchdog said. Apple denied the allegation. The mechanism "gives users more control by requiring all apps to ask permission before tracking them", the company said in an e-mailed statement, adding it will "continue ...

NXP forecast hints Apple might keep bucking China smartphone slump

26Jul

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Technology

NXP forecast hints Apple might keep bucking China smartphone slump

[ad_1] NXP Semiconductors Chief Executive Officer Kurt Sievers said that China's slumping smartphone market remains far from a rebound but that one major non-Android customer's chip orders are still comparing well with historical trends.Netherlands-based NXP makes a near-field communications chip that goes into smartphones to help with mobile payments and other functions. Sievers did not discuss Apple Inc by name, but analysts believe the iPhone maker is a major customer. Sievers' comments in an interview with Reuters came a day after the company gave a better-than-expected sales forecast based on a steady recovery in the automotive segment, sending its shares up 4.8% to $221.05 by midday Tuesday. China's smartphone market has suffered as the country's growth has slowed, with Counterpoi...