Rotten Apple: are we finally watching the death of the iPhone?
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Reuters
8 minutes ago
- Reuters
Apple beats US appeal claiming it shortchanged customers on iCloud storage
July 23 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected claims by Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab customers that the iPhone maker gave them less iCloud data storage than they paid for when upgrading. In a 3-0 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said reasonable consumers in the proposed class action would not have been misled by Apple's promises about storage capacity in its iCloud+ plans. The plaintiff Lisa Bodenburg said she paid $2.99 a month for 200 GB of storage, believing Apple would add it to the 5 GB that all iCloud customers receive, and was shortchanged because Apple gave her only 200 GB of total storage, not 205 GB. Circuit Judge Milan Smith, however said Bodenburg "received exactly what Apple promised her" when the Cupertino, California-based company offered "incremental" or "supplemental" storage, on top of the 5 GB she got for free. He cited dismissals of other cases based on "unreasonable assumptions," including that Diet Dr. Pepper would aid in weight loss, and the net weight on a lip balm label failed to reveal that the dispenser's design left some balm inaccessible. "Apple's statements are not false and deceptive merely because [they] may be unreasonably misunderstood by an insignificant and unrepresentative segment of consumers," Smith wrote. Lawyers for Bodenburg did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The decision upheld a May 2024 dismissal by U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson in San Francisco. The case is Bodenburg v Apple Inc, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-3335.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Google expected to report $94bn in revenue after AI fuels second quarter
Google is expected to report earnings following the bell on Wednesday after closing out a quarter of AI-related momentum that has given investors reasons to be optimistic. Wall Street is expecting the search giant to report $2.18 in earnings per share (EPS) on $94bn in revenue. All eyes will be on how the company's various AI efforts and investments are faring as Google closes a quarter of considerable growth in the crowded space. Most recently, OpenAI announced it would add Google Cloud to its suite of cloud storage providers for ChatGPT. Analysts are also expecting a favorable outlook on general growing demand for Google's cloud services. 'The cloud business continues to benefit from robust enterprise demand, and the recent decision by OpenAI to run ChatGPT on Google Cloud – after relying primarily on Microsoft – is both symbolic and strategic,' Scott Acheychek, COO of Rex Financial, said in a statement. 'It speaks to scale. It speaks to speed. And it underscores how Alphabet's in-house AI stack is quietly turning into a competitive asset, winning business from names like Apple and Anthropic.' While analysts still expect the company to report positive results for the second quarter of the year, some are concerned about its recent series of antitrust losses. A judge in April found that the firm acted illegally to build a monopoly of some of its advertising technology. That follows an August ruling that found Google engaged in anticompetitive behavior to protect its search monopoly. They're also looking for updates on recent analyses and remarks that indicate Google searches have declined for the first time in 22 years. During Google's recent antitrust trial, for instance, the Apple senior vice-president of services Eddy Cue said Google searches in Safari had fallen for the first time in 22 years. He attributed that to the rise in the use of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot for searches. Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion 'Search remains the dominant cash engine – and a tension point,' Acheychek said. 'While OpenAI's ChatGPT is arguably a threat to Google's search business, it's also a customer. That duality sums up the moment. This isn't necessarily a winner-take-all race; it's a scramble to serve the exploding demand for generative tools, wherever they may live.' Google is also expected to give updates on its planned $75bn investment in building out its data center capacity to support its AI features such as its expansion of AI search results. 'It seems this is a necessary investment as the only factor limiting Google's growth is the constraints on computing that AI and cloud solutions need to run on,' said Brian Mulberry, senior portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
UK competition watchdog to act over Apple and Google's mobile platforms
A UK watchdog has said it intends to take action to open up Apple and Google's mobile platforms to more competition to benefit consumers, businesses and app developers. The Competition and Markets Authority has proposed to designate the tech companies as having 'strategic market status' – as they hold an 'effective duopoly' for access on mobile devices – and now intends to force the two companies to make changes to their mobile platforms. The regulator said that it had published 'roadmaps' for Apple and Google and that it would take a 'proportionate, pro-innovation' approach to 'promote competition in digital markets while protecting UK consumers and businesses from unfair or harmful practices'. The CMA said it would, in the first instance, focus on areas such as the tech companies' app stores – which have been criticised by developers over issues including fees of up to 30% for transactions – to ensure a 'fair and transparent' app review process, as well as making sure that smartphone users could 'steer' away from app stores to make purchases. The watchdog, which launched an investigation into the US tech companies earlier this year, will also address restrictions Apple imposes on digital wallets to ensure that competing financial technology companies can compete. 'Apple and Google's mobile platforms are both critical to the UK economy – playing an important role in all our lives, from banking and shopping to entertainment and education,' said Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the CMA. 'But our investigation so far has identified opportunities for more innovation and choice. Time is of the essence: as competition agencies and courts globally take action in these markets, it's essential the UK doesn't fall behind,' she said. However, the CMA said it did not at this stage intend to force major changes such as requiring Apple to allow alternative app stores, or alternative payment methods for in-app purchases beyond its existing payment system. Tom Smith, a competition lawyer at Geradin Partners and a former CMA director, said the competition watchdog was 'ducking' taking major decisions 'which might draw political heat'. 'The CMA is implementing the regime in a thoughtful and authoritative way, but it is doing it more timidly than it should be,' he said. 'It is proposing some useful measures that would open up competition in digital markets, but it is ducking issues that would really threaten the entrenched positions of Apple and Google, and which might therefore draw political heat. For example, they have postponed the possibility for alternative app stores to challenge the App Store's monopoly on Apple devices.' Tim Sweeney, the founder and chief executive of Fortnite maker Epic, which has had legal battles with Google and Apple in the US, criticised the CMA's approach as 'surprisingly weak'. 'The monopolised UK app store economy has all of the vibrancy of a Soviet supermarket,' he said in a post on X. 'And consideration of unblocking competing app stores is delayed to 2026.' The company said it could not launch its Epic Games Store on Apple's iOS platform in the UK – as it was doing in EU countries and later this year in Brazil and Japan – and that availability of its globally popular Fortnite game on Apple phones in the UK was 'now uncertain'. The UK competition watchdog announced its investigations into Apple and Google's mobile platforms in January. When the investigation was launched, the CMA said that virtually all smartphones sold in the UK were pre-installed with Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating systems, while their app stores and browsers had privileged positions over third-party products and services. Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome dominate the mobile browser market on iPhones and Android devices. The CMA investigation was launched days after the appointment of Doug Gurr, the former country manager of Amazon UK, as its new chair. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The government, which has pushed for a shake-up of regulation to kickstart UK growth, was forced to deny it was 'in the pocket of big tech' after the appointment. Tech firms, publishers and the consumer watchdog Which? subsequently wrote to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, raising concerns that Gurr's appointment posed a threat to the independence of the CMA. Gurr said he would make the CMA's investigations into mergers and takeovers 'simple and rapid', and Cardell said in February that a change of strategic direction was needed. Apple responded to the CMA's decision to act by saying the proposed new rules could hamper innovation and threaten privacy and security. 'We're concerned the rules the UK is now considering would undermine the privacy and security protections that our users have come to expect, hamper our ability to innovate, and force us to give away our technology for free to foreign competitors,' a spokesperson said. 'We will continue to engage with the regulator to make sure they fully understand these risks.' Google said its products were open-source and offered choice, security and innovation for users. 'That's why today's announcement is disappointing and unwarranted,' said Oliver Bethell, the senior director, competition, at Google. The company said that in 2022 its Android operating system generated more than £9.9bn in revenue for British developers, supporting more than 457,000 jobs. 'It is therefore crucial that any new regulation is evidence-based, proportionate and does not become a roadblock to growth in the UK,' Bethell said. If a company is designated as having 'strategic market status', that status can last for a five-year period, and breaches of conduct rules can result in fines of up to 10% of global turnover.
