Foxconn has been forced to cut contract workers early amid iPhone sales slump, reports Nikkei. Citing an industry source familiar with the situation, the outlet says around 50,000 seasonal employees have been let go since October at the company’s top iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China.
Microsoft is officially putting an end to its mobile phone efforts, at least in their current form. In a new support document, first spotted by Thurrott, the company says that on December 10, 2019, Windows 10 Mobile users will stop receiving security updates, bug fixes and other forms of support.
Apple is looking to cut back on hiring due to slipping iPhone sales, reports Bloomberg. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet’s Mark Gurman says the company plans to reduce hiring for some divisions following weaker-than-anticipated handset sales during the recent quarter.
This year’s iPhone may feature significantly upgraded front and rear camera sensors, according to Indian website CompareRaja. In a joint report with prolific smartphone leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (OnLeaks), the outlet says at least one of the prototype handsets Apple is testing right now has a 10MP front camera, and a 14MP camera on the back.
For the second time in two months, Apple is cutting iPhone production, according to a new report from Nikkei. Citing sources with knowledge of the request, the outlet says Apple has asked its suppliers to produce 10% fewer handsets than originally planned for the January-March quarter.
The next model of Apple’s popular AirPods has surpassed another milestone on its way to release. As noted by MySmartPrice, the wireless earbuds have received certification from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), essentially giving them the green light to move forward.
iOS 10 included a CallKit framework that brought a system-wide way for customers to use specialized apps on their iPhone, like Hiya and TrueCaller, that automatically identify and block nuisance calls before the phone even rings. With iOS 12, Apple started allowing developers to write new types of call-blocking extensions that gather information from the user before deciding whether to report or block the number.
The rumored 6.1-inch next-gen iPhone with dual-SIM feature may be exclusive to China, according to Taiwan’s Economic Daily News. Citing sources within Foxconn, the outlet reports that the rumored model is “regarded as a unique model” to the mainland market.
Apple this afternoon disclosed its [fiscal] Q3 2018 earnings report, offering a look at its performance over the past 3 months. During the period, the company beat both its own and Wall Street’s expectations by selling 41.3M iPhones and earning $53.3B in revenue. Here’s a full breakdown of the numbers.
Microsoft is working on a foldable, ‘pocketable,’ dual-screen Surface device, reports The Verge. The company has long been rumored to be working on such a tablet, codenamed Andromeda, but internal documents recently obtained by the outlet offer new details on the secret project.
Apple is getting into children’s programming, reports Variety. The outlet says that the company has inked a multi-series deal with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind “Sesame Street” that has won countless awards over its 50-year history.
Apple has picked up another high profile engineer for its self-driving car project. The Information reports that the company has hired Jaime Waydo, an autonomous vehicle expert who previously worked at NASA, and was more recently a senior engineer at Google’s Waymo division.