Russia

2-step Apple ID verification rolls out in more countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

Following a major security vulnerability that let attackers reset your Apple ID password using only your email address and date of birth, Apple responded in March by fixing the iForgot hole and bolstering Apple ID account security with an optional new two-step verification process for Apple ID accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Today, the company has started to roll out the feature to nearly a dozen additional countries, including Canada, Russia and Brazil...

Russian Railways sues Apple over trademark infringement

Cody Lee ∙ January 15, 2013

I don't know what it is with Apple and European railways, but another one has taken up a beef with the Cupertino company. Today, Russian Railways announced that it has issued a trademark infringement suit against Apple.

The reason behind the lawsuit is still not entirely clear, but it looks like it has something to do with third-party apps in the App Store that use RZD's (that's the abbreviation for Russian Railways) logo without permission...

iTunes Music Store goes live in Russia, Turkey and other countries

Cody Lee ∙ December 3, 2012

Earlier today, we passed along a report that Apple was going to be holding an iTunes event in Moscow tomorrow to celebrate the launch of its music store in Russia. Rumors have been circulating for some months now that iTunes Music was on its way to the country, and it appears they were dead on. Ahead of tomorrow's event, users in Russia are seeing the iTunes Music Store populate...

Apple holding an iTunes event in Russia tomorrow

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 3, 2012

Looks like Apple's iTunes music service is coming to Russia, if today's report is to be believed. According to a tipster, Apple has invited a small group of people to an iTunes event in Moscow on the evening of December 4. Rumors first began circulating of a possible iTunes launch in the country back in November, when a Russian blog spotted that iTunes music was starting to surface in the country, with a search in the App Store for music returning a link to what appeared to be an iTunes portal...

From Russia without love: iPad patent appeal rejected

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 29, 2012

Apple's two-year attempt to get the iPad design patented in the Russian Federation hit a dead-end, when regulators ruled there was nothing "distinctive" about the tablet's makeup. The company had appealed an April rejection by the Russian Patent Office. This most recent rejection by the Russian Chamber for Patent Disputes seems to close the door on gaining a patent for the best-selling tablet.

In its response to Apple, written in Russian, the chamber ruled the iPad patent application - which describes rounded corners, a flat surface and round button beneath the screen - involves a design that is "traditional for modern communication devices, manufactured by different vendors"...

China could soon top US as the largest iOS and Android market

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated March 12, 2018

If the global picture of mobile devices were a soap opera, it would be called "As the World Turns". A constant stream of numbers show how demand and usage is shifting away from the U.S. and to China. The latest figures show the Asian country will soon top the United States with the most active iOS and Android smartphone users.

While China's 167 million iOS and Android users currently puts the nation slightly behind the US at 181 million, that ranking will change in early 2013 as China's triple-digit growth rate easily outpaces America's maturing smartphone market, according to a new report released Wednesday by a mobile analytics firm...

iTunes music begins to surface in Russia

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2012

Folks in Russia will be happy to hear that it looks like Apple is preparing to finally launch its iTunes Music Store in the country. Several Russian iOS users are reporting that music is now searchable in the province's App Store...

Apple to launch Russian iTunes Store with tracks under $0.99

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 7, 2016

Apple is planning to open an iTunes store in Russia later this year or early 2013, a local business journal reports. The Russian iTunes Store could offer music cheaper than in the US. While licensing deals are still underway, the Cupertino, Calif. digital music giant is expected to unveil tracks costing under $0.99, the newspaper says.

The supposed deal could prop up flagging Russian sales of digital music. While physical music sales are in free-fall, even digital music purchases -- which have been growing elsewhere -- dropped by 40 percent to levels not seen since 2009. The chief reason: "a culture of copyright infringement," according to music industry group IFPI. The nation's leading music service is operated by vKontakte, which also offers file-sharing, according to the IFPI.

Report: Malware targeting Russian smartphones 40 times more than US

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 22, 2018

All smartphones are not created equal -- at least in the eyes of malware authors. A smartphone in Russia is 40 times as likely to be infected by malware than the same iPhone or Android handset in the U.S., according to security researchers.

Product manager Derek Halliday of mobile security expert Lookout tells All Things Digital the 40-to-1 difference represents "a pretty massive gulf."

Apple’s arrogance blamed for low iPhone penetration in Russia

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

The iPhone is as popular in the nearly 150 million people market of the Russian Federation as it is elsewhere. However, unlike in the United States, Western Europe and in most other developed countries, Russian customers are expected to pay through their nose to get their hands on the sought-after device.

If you ask carriers, Apple's arrogance in dealing with its Russian wireless partners is behind the company's relatively low penetration in that market. This of course creates a sizable opportunity for Android cheapos. If I were Tim Cook, I would book a flight to Moscow to discuss lowering shipment commitments in exchange for a more flexible pricing scheme lest I lose their support...

Nasdrovia! Russia scraps the 5% import tax on iPads

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 27, 2017

Good news for our Russian friends who are thinking about getting an iPad. The country recently reclassified the iPad as a PC, putting it in a category of devices that are exempt from the 5% import tax:

Russia scrapped a 5 percent import duty on Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad after classifying it as a computer rather than a GPS-navigation device, Vedomosti reported, citing an order by the country’s customs service.

Other tablet makers are gringing!