Apple

Looks like it’s gonna be a very Merry Apple Christmas indeed

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Despite a blitz of advertising and promotions, consumers across the globe are choosing Apple products during the run up to Christmas. After interviewing more than seventy shoppers in ten cities, Reuters reports consumers are not swayed either by Wall Street concerns or Madison Avenue come-ons. Instead, in shopping malls in the US, Europe and Asia, the key is Apple's simplicity.

Samsung - Apple's chief rival - is gaining no converts in shopping malls. Only in Singapore and Bangalore, India did Reuters find consumers picking Samsung products over the iPhone or iPad. In Mexico, despite having a mall covered with ads and displays promoting the South Korean firm's products, the iPad mini is selling like hotcakes...

Samsung’s chief strategist loves his Apple gadgets

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 13, 2012

Young Sohn is Samsung's chief strategy office. By virtue of his position, the executive is privy to the South Korea conglomerate's market strategy, future products and business dealings.

It goes without saying we were a little shocked (positively) learning that he also happens to be an Apple user, and by choice, too.

His entire household is full of Apple devices and Sohn had no problem admitting that, in his view, Apple designs the world's most-integrated devices. He also praises Cupertino firm's iCloud service and the iTunes ecosystem as he also happens to be a great believer in worry-free computing...

Samsung dissing Apple’s Maps in Sidney

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

You can't blame Samsung's marketing team for pouncing on Apple's every misstep. Remember the Apple Maps snafu in Australia that led to the police issuing a public warning advising against using the mapping product because it incorrectly placed the town of Mildura in the middle of Australia’s Murray Sunset National Park? Seen at the top is a new display banner found on Sydney’s George Street.

A mud-soaked SUV and a sign that reads “Oops, should have got a Samsung Galaxy S III. Get navigation you can trust” really needs no description. The wrong data Samsung's ad is referring to was supplied by the Australian government, iDB reported yesterday, and was incorrectly rendered in other mapping products...

Project Azalea: a $10 billion Apple mobile chip plant

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 12, 2012

We've suspected for a while now that Apple's been making moves ultimately aimed at taking its chip contract elsewhere. Clearly Apple ain't interested (any longer than it needs to) in letting Samsung enjoy an early peek at the technological solutions developed for the engine that drives its iPhones and iPads.

Currently, all of Apple's in-house designed A-series processors are being built exclusively by Samsung in its $14 billion chip plant in Austin, Texas.

The iPhone maker was also rumored to be contemplating a switch to Intel's x86 mobile chips for iPads, as outrageous as the very thought of it may seem.

But what if Tim Cook and his newly-minted chief of Technologies and long-time hardware expert Bob Mansfield have a radical solution in mind? A report Wednesday has it that the California firm could be seeking to invest up to ten billion dollars into a dedicated chip fab in New York, presumably in order to take control of its silicon destiny...

iPhone 5 helps Apple grab a quarter of the world’s LTE device market

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 11, 2012

In less than three months the iPhone 5 has been available, Apple has laid claim to more than 26 percent of the LTE device market. While rival Samsung still is the LTE leader, its position fell by nearly 11 percent following the iPhone 5's September 21 launch, researchers say.

Smartphones from by Apple and Samsung are leading an explosion in LTE use. While 2011 ended with nine million 4G subscriptions, 2012 will exit with fifty million LTE users, according to Strategy Analytics. Asia appears to be a hotspot for LTE use, the research firm noted...

Rumor: iPhone 6 with NFC, stronger battery, super HD camera, 4.8-inch screen in June 2013

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

So, are you tired of the iPhone 5 already? Feeling the after-announcement blues, sort of like the after-Christmas let-down? Cheer up, Apple fans, the iPhone 5S (or the iPhone 6 or whatever Apple calls it) is coming next June or July. According to one Wall Street observer, the new iPhone will include a "super HD" camera and screen, stronger battery and NFC.

What's more, the iPhone 5S will arrive in a rainbow of colors, or at least 6-8 different colors, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. Also on tap: the iPad 5 with an IGZO screen and more colors...

IDC: Samsung leads shipments, Apple rules smart device profits

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

Research firm IDC again crowned Samsung and Apple the leaders in smartphones and tablets. The two rivals are taking different paths to the top as the South Korean company leads in sheer numbers while the iPhone maker leads profit per device.

It recently said Samsung has 21 percent of the so-called smart connected device market comprised of a collection of PCs, tablets and smartphones, while Apple squeezed $34.1 billion out of its 15.1 percent market share during the third quarter of 2012...

Apple accelerating plans to make a jump to TSMC for mobile chips

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 10, 2012

Last time we heard, Apple was going to move its mobile chip production from Samsung's $14 billion Texas facility to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, some time in 2014. But according to Taipei Times, the company could make the jump earlier than expected as it's now looking to tap TSMC's fabrication capability to make next-gen processors for iPhones and iPads as soon as the second quarter of 2013, using TSMC's 28-nanometer process...

Samsung teases ‘something new’ for CES 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 10, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWoAxkMmOLk

Samsung, the world's largest maker of both cellphones and smartphones by volume, is gearing up for CES 2013, which runs January 8-11 in Las Vegas. A successor to the Galaxy S III is expected to debut at the show and the South Korean firm has put together a nice teaser suggesting "something new is coming". There are some indications that Apple may be looking to unveil a seventh-generation iPhone during the first quarter of next year, but no credible evidence of a manufacturing ramp up has surfaced yet...

The iPhone 5 hits Samsung’s home turf

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2012

As promised, Apple on Friday rolled the iPhone 5 out in Samsung's home turf of South Korea, home to population of 50 million people. Today's launch will be augmented by the global roll-out to an additional 50 countries later in the month as Apple works on fulfilling its self-imposed schedule of having the device available in a hundred countries and across 240 carriers by year's end.

The Cupertino firm appears to have caught up with demand as the online Apple Store now quotes 2-4 business days for online deliveries. The previous two-per-customer limitation has also been lifted so people can now order as much iPhones as they wish...

Judge calls for ‘global peace’ between Apple and Samsung

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 7, 2012

Call it a Rodney King moment, or a holiday Hail Mary, but one California judge is asking long-time judicial combatants Apple and Samsung to play nice. Apparently, the idea went over like last year's fruitcake. Judge Lucy Koh Thursday made the plea as the two rivals met for an appeal hearing where the South Korean smartphone maker objected to its $1.05 billion patent-infringement fine and Apple argued the penalty should be increased...

The next Galaxy smartphone may come with a bendable display

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 6, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkU-GEZ72s

Samsung is on track to launch its next flagship handset, the Galaxy S IV, in April 2013 and reportedly the device will come with a "breakthrough unbreakable screen", as Reuters put it in today's report. You'd be forgiven for dismissing this news nugget as a pipedream of sorts, but bear with me for a moment.

We've been hearing that Samsung's been looking to incorporate flexible display into next-generation smartphones and tablets for over a year now. Plus, the South Korean conglomerate certainly has demonstrated its willingness to explore uncharted territories. At CES 2011, Samsung's mobile displays arm showed off a cool 4.5-inch flexible AMOLED display prototype based on electro activity polymer, seen above...