Washington, United States | AFP | Apple overtook Samsung in the fourth quarter as the largest smartphone producer in a declining global market for handsets, research firm IDC said Friday. A survey by IDC showed Apple — which reported its quarterly data Thursday — led all vendors with 77.3 million …
Read More »Apple delivers record profit, seeks to allay iPhone X fears
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Apple on Thursday said its earnings in the final three months of last year set new records, with sales of its flagship iPhone X topping its expectations. The California-based technology giant reported that profit climbed to $20 billion on revenue that increased 13 …
Read More »Google parent hit by higher costs, names new chairman
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google parent company Alphabet on Thursday reported a quarterly loss to set aside funds to pay taxes on repatriated profits, and named a new chairman to replace outgoing Eric Schmidt. Shares in Alphabet slid 2.3 percent in after-hours trade on the results, highlighting …
Read More »Facebook acknowledges social media’s risks to democracy
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook acknowledged Monday that widespread use of social media can be harmful to democracy, while pledging to work to minimize these risks. The world’s biggest social network’s comments were the latest response to persistent criticism for its role in allowing the spread of misinformation, reinforcing …
Read More »Apple says will pay $38 bn in taxes on repatriated profits
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Apple announced Wednesday it would pay some $38 billion in taxes — likely the largest payment of its kind — on profits repatriated from overseas as it boosts investments in the United States. The iPhone maker said in a statement it plans to use …
Read More »Apple urged to study iPhone addiction in children
New York, United States | AFP | Two large shareholders urged Apple to study whether iPhones are proving addictive for children and that intensive use of the smartphones may be bad for their mental health. “There is a growing body of evidence that, for at least some of the most frequent …
Read More »LG adds Google AI in ‘smart home’ push
Las Vegas, United States | AFP | Consumer electronics titan LG on Monday proclaimed this year a “tipping point” for smart homes, pushing hard into artificial intelligence and building Google Assistant into a smart speaker. LG Electronics is developing technology designed to enable its appliances, televisions and other devices adapt to …
Read More »Tech firms battle to resolve major security flaw
Paris, France | AFP | Amazon, Google and now Apple — as the list of digital giants hit by the “Spectre” and “Meltdown” computer security flaws grows longer, the race is on to limit the damage. “All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected, but there are no known exploits …
Read More »Apple CEO must fly private for ‘security, efficiency’
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Apple’s board has instructed chief executive Tim Cook to use only private aircraft “in the interests of security and efficiency” at the world’s most valuable company, regulatory documents show. A filing with securities regulators this week said the board determined that its CEO must …
Read More »Target buys same-day delivery service for $550 mn
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Target said Wednesday it was acquiring same-day grocery delivery service Shipt for $550 million, helping the US retail titan step up its challenge to Amazon and its recently acquired Whole Foods supermarket chain. The retailer said it planned to combine its network of stores …
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