The project is said to be in the early stages of planning but they have received funding of $1 billion from Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son. Despite being in the early stages of the project, the pair have discussed many potential designs and are looking forward to building something that gives a ‘more natural and intuitive user experience for interacting with AI’. The FT reports said that they are taking inspiration from how the iPhone used the touchscreen to transform how we interact with the mobile internet.

The duo is said to be working on giving users a more natural and intuitive way of conversing with AI. Employing ChatGPT on a PC or an iPhone is ideal but that’s not what the devices were explicitly designed for. This project may hypothetically involve hardware embedded with AI. The climax will be creating a way of interacting with computers that is less dependent on the screen.

AI for the last decade has been hyped but recent advancements in Generative AI tools that can create content like text or art, have boosted the interest and funding drastically. This change was led by Open AI with its success with ChatGPT. This also created a need for tech giants like Microsoft and Google to release their AI systems. Amazon also collaborated with Anthropic to bring advancements in their AI systems.

Jony Ive worked with Apple for nearly 30 years and left it in 2019 to start his own company LoveFrom. He made contributions to some of the finest physical designs of devices like the iPhone, iMac, iPad, and other iDevices. Since leaving Apple, working with OpenAI to design hardware embedded with AI will be a noteworthy effort and its success can mark his name in the world of innovation.

The most awaited launch of the year is finally here. Apple has released its iPhone 15 line along with Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple Watch Series 9. They also announced an update to last year’s Apple Watch Ultra.

The four new iPhone models, the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max will be available in the market later this month. All of the announcements were made at the Wonderlust event on Tuesday in Cupertino, California. The Apple event was live-streamed on various platforms showcasing its innovation in tech. The iPhone 15 series was expected to have aesthetic changes and technological updates, and it looks like Apple has delivered it.

All four devices in the new iPhone lineup − iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max will be available for preorder on September 15 with an official online and in-store launch on September 22. There are numerous features and upgrades in the new line that are exciting.

Qualcomm investors had a soaring start to the week as the stock prices were up as much as 9.29% in the pre-market session on Monday. By late morning, the stock had given up some of its gains and was still 3% high, and in the early afternoon, the shares were up 4%.

On the other hand, Apple’s stock price fell 6% in the last week. With the Qualcomm deal, the stock price was up 0.4%. It will be noteworthy to see the jump in Apple’s stock in the midst of its new iPhone launch and China banning the iPhone in the workplace.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown said, “At a time when Apple is running into increasing challenges in China, reinforcing its supply chains elsewhere is a priority, and it appears the company is rolling back or at least delaying plans to go at it alone in more areas with its chip production.”

San Diego-based Qualcomm signed a chip supply deal previously in 2019 with Apple, after the settlement of a protracted legal clash between the two companies. This heated legal battle was over the patent which then forced the tech giant to settle outside of the court.

The basis of the suit was Apple bought modem chips from Qualcomm for the iPhones. However, these chips had patented technology and the chipmaker charged Apple for the chips and a separate license fee for the use of patented technology. Apple opposed it and called it ‘double dipping’. Qualcomm accused Apple of blackmailing and refused to sell the chips. Both the companies decided to fight it all the way and it started a multi-billion-dollar trial which on day one unexpectedly ended when both companies reached an out-of-court settlement.

The patent licensing deal Qualcomm signed with Apple in 2019 will remain in place. This deal will expire in 2025 and the companies have the option to extend it for another two years.

Qualcomm said on Monday that its financial projections presume that only a fifth of the iPhones will have its chips by 2026. It is notable that Qualcomm made a similar projection in 2021 about its business with Apple which turned out overly conservative as the iPhone 14 models released last year all had Qualcomm modems.

Tech giants such as Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, TikTok, Meta, Microsoft, and Samsung said that they already expected to be subject to the regime. However, Samsung is not on today’s official list. Core platform services like Google’s web-based email service, Gmail, and Microsoft’s rival webmail offering, Outlook are also omitted. There are no cloud storage platforms listed. It is fascinating to see no webmail services on the Digital Markets Act platform list.

The rules and provisions of DMA apply to the gatekeepers; But what exactly is the definition of gatekeepers? EC defines gatekeepers as online firms with a dominance in the market and economic impact that serve as intermediaries linking a huge user base to a large number of businesses and platforms, and function in multiple EU countries.

Key provisions of the Digital Markets Act include a ban on self-preferencing or gatekeepers requiring business users to make use of their services and a ban on gatekeeping app stores preventing the installation of competing stores. They cannot ban business users from offering and promoting competing services and they must share platform usage information.

There are also data portability and service interoperability provisions, including specific interoperability obligations for messaging giants and choice-screen-style obligations for operating systems, browsers, search engines, and virtual assistants.

Moreover, there’s a ban on gatekeepers tracking and profiling users for ad targeting unless they obtain their consent. The Digital Markets Act also bans restrictions on uninstalling gatekeeper preloads. Furthermore, the gatekeepers will need to meet a requirement to apply Fair, Reasonable, and Non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms for general access (and avoid discriminatory T&Cs) for fair dealing with business users.

Compliance failure or breaching the regime can lead to fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover or even 20% for severe repeat offenses. The Commission has further power to apply additional remedies like requiring a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it or stopping gatekeepers from acquiring additional services related to systemic non-compliance.

In his speech at a digital conference in Estonia, Breton outlined the bloc’s object for the regulation. “We know that some tech giants have used their market power to give their products and services an unfair advantage and hold back competitors from doing business and creating added value and jobs. These practices distort competition, undermine free consumer choice, and hold back SMEs’ innovation potential notably arising from Web 4.0 and virtual worlds,” he said.

Breton further said, “It was high time that Europe sets its rules of the game upfront, providing a clear enforceable legal framework to foster innovation, competitiveness and the resilience of the Single Market, rather than having to rely on lengthy and not always effective antitrust investigations. The DMA does just that.”

The new set of rules can pave the road for different opportunities for competition on major platforms such as independent app stores, alternative payment services, and upstart search engines. And, simultaneously breaking the aggressive behavior of gatekeepers such as arbitrary enforcement of T&Cs.

The new law can also encourage the development of less exploitative business models, as consumers should have more space to break the loop of platform giants’ lock-ins. Breaking the pattern of their powerful network and opting for other competing businesses can still take some time as consumers trust the big enterprises.

There is still time to comply with the Digital Markets Act deadlines come into the picture. These tech giants have six months to ensure they meet all the legal requirements and submit a compliance report in which they summarize their compliance with each of the obligations of the DMA. So March 2024 will be the time when we can see the true effect of DMA and its influence on the competition and the big tech.

According to the latest Wall Street Journal article, the Chinese Government is asking all its Central Government agencies to stop using Apple iPhones at work. But the extent of the ban is still unclear.

This ban comes right before the anticipated launch event of Apple’s iPhone 15. This will surely affect the revenue figures in the Chinese market. Any further action can become consequential and provoke serious concern for foreign enterprises operating in China as Sino-US tensions soar.

The Sino-US tensions rise as Washington works with the allies to block China’s access to important equipment needed to keep its chip industry competitive. In turn, Beijing limits the shipments from prominent US firms including planemaker Boeing (BA.N) and chip company Micron Technology. The restrictions inflicted by both countries on each other can lead to growing individual markets across the globe.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, during a visit to China last week, said US companies had complained to her that China had become uninvestable. This points to hefty fines, raids, and other strict actions, making it delicate to undertake business in the world’s second-largest economy.

The Chinese Government’s move also acts as a way to encourage the use of Chinese brands in the country, and by extension globally. This move comes in the midst of rumors claiming that Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has managed to develop an advanced 7nm chipset being used in Huawei Mate 60 Pro.
Huawei’s recent challenges accruing from US restrictions, the Mate 60 Pro’s launch holds significance. The smartphone’s potential self-sufficiency in terms of chipset marks a milestone for China and Huawei. Apart from Huawei, the US is gradually implementing the TikTok ban. With some states like Montana already announcing a ban on the app. The politics behind tech is raging towards an eventual confrontation between the US and China. How will Apple respond to the ban? Let us know your thoughts.

As per MacRumors, the form factors of the new iPhones will be similar to the previous line-up. There will be 4 variants at launch with the standard iPhone 15, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max. The standard and Pro versions have a 6.1-inch screen size and the Max and Pro Max versions have a 6.7-inch screen size.

The iPhone 15 models are also likely to come with a more power-efficient OLED display. This will reduce power consumption, resulting in improved battery life across the board. The new models are also likely to have between 6-8 GB RAM, just like the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus.

Color options will mostly remain the same with standard options like blue, black, white, and a greenish-yellow shade. There is also a new coral shade which is somewhere between orange and pink. Lastly, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus may come with color-matched braided USB-C cables.

The rumored prices of the upcoming models will be slightly higher than the iPhone 14, ranging from $799 to $1199.

Rumors about iPhone 15’s cameras indicate a triple camera setup. The 48MP sensors will replace the old 12MP sensors from the iPhone 14 standard models. The low-light mode might also see a bump in performance with a new stacked sensor design.

Apple is also expected to adopt Sony’s latest ‘state of the art’ image sensors for some of the new models. It doubles the saturation signal in each pixel, allowing it to capture more light to cut down on underexposure and overexposure.

With the introduction of a periscope lens, the iPhone’s zoom capabilities would be majorly increased as the current Pro models are limited to 3x zoom.

Apple can consider bringing Touch ID back to its Pro models using an under-display solution. But, the standard and Plus models are not expected to include Touch ID and will continue to use Face ID. Moreover, the iPhone 15 will keep the Dynamic Island, which Apple might expand to all models instead of just the Pro models.

Pro models are also expected to see an enhancement to titanium frames, slimmer bezels, and some minor design changes with more curved device edges. The iPhone 15 models could also feature a frosted glass back, which has previously been a design detail that Apple has limited to the Pro models.

Users can expect a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port on the Pro and Pro Max. This is surely a welcome change for many returning iPhone users. The standard iPhone 15 models will keep the same Lightning port. So, if you want the type C port, you will have to shell out a few hundred bucks more.

Along with the iPhones, Apple is unveiling the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra second generation. These smartwatches will have updated cores for the S-series chips, giving them a performance boost.

The AirPods Pro might see an upgrade, but there is no indication of it so far. Instead, we might see the AirPod case with a type C charging port to go along with the new changes to the iPhones.

Apple is shifting the trend and focusing on self-repair capabilities for the new iPhones. The right-to-repair bill was passed making its way through the California state legislation. We have a keen eye on how this bill will alter the course for the upcoming iPhones and how well it will sit with users.

The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models will be easier to repair this year, as Apple added a chassis redesign. That will make them easier to open if you want to swap the back glass.

Going forward, general security and user experience seem to be Apple’s focus.

The actual performance figures will probably be the best in the industry. It’s Apple we’re talking about, and they’ve been the market leaders for decades. A pre-order only makes sense if you want to be one of the first few to boast about your latest iPhones. The pre-orders start rolling out on 15th September. But, if you already own one of the iPhone 14 models, you might want to wait a while for price drops.

Some users of the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro have complaints resembling the days of “Batterygate”. They claim that less than a year after purchase, their devices are already exhibiting more battery degradation than anticipated. Which is a lot faster than previous iPhone users’ experiences. In July, Sam Kohl of AppleTrack tweeted that his iPhone 14 Pro had already depleted to 90 percent of its maximum capacity.

Kohl clarified the situation in a video published yesterday, saying that it makes it difficult for him to recommend the phone, especially given how much it costs at $999.

Apple says iPhone batteries should retain up to 80% of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles. The recent reports about the upcoming iPhone 15 series, suggest that the batteries will be 10 to 18 percent larger.

Kohl is not the only one who has noticed these figures. Joanna Stern, a senior tech columnist for the Wall Street Journal, recently stated in her newsletter that her iPhone 14 Pro is currently showing a battery capacity of 88 percent. And assuming you don’t have AppleCare or any extended service plan, replacing the battery on an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro after the device has passed its one-year guarantee will cost more. The cost increased by $30 last year, from $69 for older devices to $99. But at least these days, you can always fix it yourself if you don’t want to travel to an Apple Store or other third-party repair facility.

So far, there have been no comments from Apple about the latest iPhones draining the battery rapidly.

Back at its Google I/O 2023 keynote, Google disclosed plans to use millions of existing Android devices, compatible peripherals, and a new generation of Bluetooth item trackers to assist in finding your lost electronics. That’s because the implementation sounds quite like Apple’s Find My Network. Initially, this more extensive Find My Device network was supposed to be introduced over the summer.

Google has now chosen to hold off until Apple also implements unknown tracker alerts. This is something Apple already does for its own AirTags, and ultimately those alerts will also be able to distinguish between trackers that use Google’s Find My Device network. But we’re not there yet, and it appears like Google wants to delay the release of new trackers until both significant mobile platforms can find them.

The goal of Apple and Google’s initial joint news release was to “release a production implementation of the specification for unwanted tracking alerts by the end of 2023 that will then be supported in future versions of iOS and Android.” So, Google’s early summer estimate for the larger Find My Device network was too ambitious.

Speaking of unidentified tracker notifications, Google has announced a new security feature starting this month. Android phones will now start alerting users when an unidentified AirTag is found to be traveling with them. This comes as a clear intention to separate it from the owner. In other words, you will be given a helpful heads-up if someone is attempting to covertly follow your location without your consent. This is a built-in, system-level prompt and won’t call for the download of any other apps.

The fact that this new privacy and safety feature will be widely accessible for phones running Android 6 and later, is possibly its best feature. This is due to Google Play Services receiving a software upgrade that adds alerts for unknown trackers. Therefore, you should be able to benefit from this new security measure even if your phone isn’t receiving significant Android updates anymore.

Google prioritizing users’ safety and delaying its update is a good sign for Android users in the market. Because you can always see the iOS advertisements making fun of the Andriod security features. Let’s see how Google makes of the extra time it’s seeking for the update. So far, Google has not given a new launch date for the robust tracking network.

In exchange for favorable wholesale prices on all Apple and Beats gadgets, the plaintiffs claim that Amazon restricted independent merchants from selling popular Apple products on its marketplace. That resulted in inflated prices for UK consumers buying Apple and Beats products on Amazon.

According to the accusation, practically all independent sellers of Apple and Beats products vanished from Amazon by January 2019. This leads to fewer discounts for customers and more profits for Apple.

Christine Riefa, a professor of law at the University of Reading, will be the suit’s class representative. Her research focuses on consumer protection legislation and policy. The lawsuit is being launched on an opt-out basis, which means that unless they choose to opt-out, all UK class members are automatically included (and would be eligible for compensation if the litigation is successful). A commercial litigation funder, whose name is being withheld, is financing the legal action, and there are no costs or fees associated with participating in it for the affected consumers.

Customers in the UK who think they qualify for membership in the claimant class can learn more at www.ukappleamazonclaim.co.uk, the claim website. Also, in the UK, product developers are seeking $1BN in compensation for anti-competitive behavior.

Just about two months ago in April 2023, Amazon faced another lawsuit from attorney general Rob Bonta for antitrust violations. Bonta alleged that Amazon forced third-party sellers to accept policies that shot the product prices up. As per the allegations, violating those policies and offering lower prices will face penalties.

The latest lawsuit might uncover a pattern of dishonest behavior from Amazon. If litigation like this turns out to be in claimants’ favor, it would be a huge financial and reputational blow for the tech & e-commerce giants.