by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Large Enterprise, Markets, Technology, World
Washington : iPhone maker Apple has agreed to pay Ireland $15.46 billion in back taxes by early 2018.
According to Wall Street Journal, Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said on Monday that both sides agreed to the terms of an escrow fund for the money.
The European Union in 2016 launched a fresh crackdown over taxes paid by tech giant Apple.
The EU said it planned to refer Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to recover the money in back taxes from Apple.
According to the EU, the tax deal allowed Apple to pay almost nothing in tax on its European profits between 2003 and 2014.
It concluded that the US firm’s Irish tax benefits were illegal, enabling the firm to pay a corporate tax rate of no more than one per cent.
Ireland had claimed that EU regulators were interfering with national sovereignty.
Not just Apple, Amazon was also ordered to repay $293 million in back taxes after the European Commission said it had been given an unfair tax deal in Luxembourg.
Amazon denied it owed any back tax, saying it did “not receive any special treatment from Luxembourg”.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Corporate, Corporate Reports, Marketing Basics, Markets, Networking, Online Marketing, Sales, Social Media, Technology
San Francisco : Essentially a hardware-focused firm, Apple is falling behind in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race with Google and Amazon racing ahead while embracing the open-source and collaborative approach in the emerging field of AI, Fortune reported.
According to Mohanbir Sawhney, McCormick Foundation professor of technology at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, sheets of glass are simply no longer the most fertile ground for innovation.
“That means Apple urgently needs to shift its focus and investment to AI-driven technologies, as part of a broader effort to create the kind of ecosystem Amazon and Google are building quickly,” Sawhney wrote in Fortune.
According to him, Apple has reached its peak with “super premium” iPhone X and “does not represent the beginning of the next 10 years of the smartphone, as Apple claims”.
Apple launched the iPhone X globally on Friday.
Players pursue innovation along a vector of differentiation until the vector runs out of steam.
“When that happens, the focus of innovation shifts to a different vector and new market leaders emerge. We have seen this pattern several times in mobile phone innovation over the past three decades,” Sawhney said.
The vector of differentiation is now shifting from hardware to AI and AI-based software and agents.
“As AI-driven phones like Google’s Pixel 2 and virtual agents like Amazon Echo proliferateaToday’s smartphones will likely recede into the background,” he stressed.
Google Pixel phones offers great photo-enhancement features and deeper hardware-software integration driven by AI-based technology.
The second edition of Pixel features 5-inch display, 4GB RAM, 12MP rear and 8MP front camera, and 2,700mAH battery.
Google will bring Pixel 2 XL (6-inch display) into the Indian market from November 15 onwards.
The Amazon Echo enables natural conversations through the Alexa virtual agent.
“Apple has only to look at Motorola, Nokia, and Blackberry to understand how quickly a leader can fall from the peak in this market, and do its best to avert this outcome,” Sawhney added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Large Enterprise
New Delhi : With less than 24 hours left for the arrival of Apple’s “super Premium” iPhone X in India amid heavy pre-booking, Apple premium resellers on Thursday were yet to receive the stocks to begin delivering the Rs 89,000 device (starting price for 64GB variant) to those who pre-booked it.
Apple India, however, said that the company normally delivers new iPhone units either on the previous night or on the same day of the arrival.
“We are launching the much-awaited iPhone X tomorrow. Every company works in its own way. We try and avoid sending units in advance. So, if the launch is tomorrow, the iPhone X units will arrive tomorrow or later tonight,” a senior Apple executive told IANS.
Some of the authorised Apple resellers in the Delhi-NCR region told IANS that they have not yet been notified about the availability of the devices that have been advertised as arriving in India on November 3.
“You will be informed tomorrow only about the availability of iPhone X. We have not got the devices so far,” a representative from Imagine Store, an Apple Premium Reseller in Gurugram, told IANS.
“We cannot assure if you will get the device tomorrow. Those who had pre-booked the iPhone X are requested to wait for our call. It completely depends on the availability,” he added.
Even supply chain solution provider Redington India and HCL Infosystems that sell newly-launched iPhones on their partner stores were yet to send any information on iPhone X.
When contacted, a representative from iWorld from Kamla Nagar said they did not have any iPhone X stock yet.
“Our store hasn’t got any iPhone X yet. I will be able to tell you the details only tomorrow. As far as timings are concerned, last year, the sale of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus started in the evening. We are expecting the iPhone X sales will commence in the evening this year as well,” he told IANS.
An iNvent Apple premium reseller in North Delhi had earlier told IANS they were yet to receive iPhone X stocks.
“We have not received a single unit of iPhone X so far. We do not know if they have been already shipped or not. The devices are expected to reach us the day it goes on sale or maybe a day before. For iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, we had received the stock earlier,” said a sales representative from iNvent.
In the past few days, several media reports have claimed that Apple is facing a huge supply gap primarily for two reasons: difficulties in assembling the new facial identification software and 3D camera, and “off the charts” pre-orders for iPhone X after the Apple fraternity didn’t make the expected beeline for iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Analysts have already warned that the stock on hand is scarce, owing to constrained supply of key iPhone X components. The advanced depth-sensing camera system in iPhone X requires parts that only a few manufacturers can produce.
The iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64GB model and Rs 1.02 lakh for the 256GB variant.
Meanwhile, iPhone X has got a frenzied response on e-commerce site Amazon.in. The device went on pre-order on the site on October 27 and was out of stock within a few minutes.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Large Enterprise, Markets, Technology
By Nishant Arora,
New Delhi : After facing a lacklustre response to iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus globally, including in India, Apple has now placed its bet on successful delivery of “super premium” iPhone X that aims for a scheduled arrival on November 3.
In the past few days, several media reports have claimed that Apple is facing a huge supply gap primarily for two reasons: difficulties in assembling the new facial identification software and 3D camera, and “off the charts” pre-orders for iPhone X after the Apple fraternity didn’t make the expected beeline for iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
The scenario suggests that people will have to wait long before they can grab an iPhone X. Analysts have already warned that the stock on hand is scarce, owing to constrained supply of key iPhone X components. The advanced depth-sensing camera system in iPhone X requires parts that only a few manufacturers can produce.
The iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64 GB model and Rs 1.02 lakh for the 256 GB variant.
According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, supply issues will have three main implications for Apple.
“Either the demand for iPhone X will shift to subsequent quarters or some part of the demand will be absorbed by iPhone 8 series if supply is delayed for long. In both the cases, it won’t have much impact on Apple as its user base will remain within the iOS ecosystem,” Pathak told IANS.
However, there is another scenario – where an Android premium user who wishes to shift to iPhone X decides instead to upgrade within the Android ecosystem due to unavailability of iPhone X.
“In that case, it will be an opportunity lost for Apple. However, in India where the super-premium segment (above Rs 50,000) is just 1.2 per cent of the market and with small user base, we don’t think it will have a major impact on Apple in terms of volumes,” Pathak said.
iPhone X brings a different design and an almost full-OLED (edge to edge) screen display.
“Many users who are on iPhone 6 and 7 for the past two-three years are eagerly waiting to upgrade to the entirely new 10th anniversary iPhone, which should help bring good demand for this new device,” Navkendar Singh, Senior Research Manager at IDC India, told IANS.
Earlier, smartphone users in India cited lack of innovation and high prices for holding their decision to buy iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Apple made iPhone 8 obsolete in a matter of minutes by announcing iPhone X with advanced features, they said.
“iPhone X will certainly help drive good volumes for Apple, more so after a very tepid and weak demand for iPhone 8 series,” Singh noted.
Apple has announced international warranty for iPhones bought from outside India.
“A large number of users will try to get their hands on the device from countries with lower pricing. Having said that, the only dampner for the demand can be supply issues that Apple is facing,” Singh added.
Ming-Chi Kuo, famed Apple analyst with KGI Securities, said earlier this week that it’s likely Apple “won’t repeat” the supply and production struggles it experienced with iPhone X with the new 2018 models.
“Shipments of the 2018 iPhone models will arrive on time and in stable supply during the late Q3 of 2018,” Kuo said.
Retailers in India who have seen huge iPhone X pre-orders are keeping their fingers crossed for the stocks to arrive before November 3, and also keep the stocks coming on to meet soaring demand.
“Considering that Apple enjoys a huge aspirational value and premium positioning, iPhone X will do well in the Indian market. The high price will not deter consumers from paying huge premium for Apple products,” Singh told IANS.
People normally upgrade iPhones in September/October but owing to the launch of iPhone 8 and iPhone X at the same time, they waited for X this time instead of upgrading to iPhone 8.
“The buyback offer from Reliance Jio will also help customers purchase iPhone X. Given the supply chain issue Apple is facing, Indian customers expect to face issues related to availability in the initial few weeks,” Satish Meena, senior Forecast Analyst, Forrester Research, told IANS.
(Nishant Arora can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Large Enterprise, Markets, Sales, Technology
San Francisco : Apple’s upcoming iPhone will be called the “iPhone X” and is expected to be priced at nearly $1,000, media reports said, adding that two other new smartphones may be called “iPhone 8” and “iPhone 8 Plus”.
Reported by Apple news website 9to5Mac late Sunday, the new devices will be unveiled at Apple’s mega event, to be held at the Steve Jobs Theatre at its new headquarters in California on September 12.
According to a developer named Steve Troughton Smith, the iPhone 8 will feature 2GB, while the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X will both feature 3GB.
“In terms of camera technology, Smith says the iPhone X will feature a 12MP rear-facing camera with support for 4K video at 60 FPS and 1080p video at 240 FPS,” 9to5Mac reported.
As for the front shooter, the device houses 7MP camera with support for 1080p video at 30 FPS.
Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS 11 Golden Master (GM) — the final version of the software — has also been leaked, revealing more about the products to be unveiled.
The iOS 11 GM revealed Apple’s new A11 processor that features 6 cores – two high performance cores and four high efficiency cores.
According to The Verge, There’s been some new revelations about the 3D face scanner, wireless charging and Apple TV.
“It appears that you can use Face ID to not only unlock your phone, but also use it to confirm purchases in iTunes and the App Store,” the report added.
One of the iPhone models may be charged wirelessly.ASmith also pointed out that the Apple TV will have 4K resolution.
This year’s launch marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone.
Analysts have predicted that riding on the “better-than-expected iPad and iPhone sales”, the upcoming flagship device could make the Cupertino-based giant the first company to reach and sustain a $1 trillion market cap.
According to a report in MarketWatch, the stock momentum has added $56 billion to the company’s market cap since the announcement of its third quarter results.
—IANS
