Apple on Thursday sent out invitations to an event on Sept. 10 at its Silicon Valley campus where it is expected to unveil a new-generation iPhone.
Apple disclosed little about what it plans to spotlight in the Steve Jobs Theater at its headquarters in Cupertino.
For years now, Apple has hosted events in the fall to launch new iPhone models ahead of the Christmas shopping season.
Introduction of “iPhone 11” handsets would come as the global smartphone market tightens and Apple makes a priority of selling digital content and services to fans of its hardware.
New iPhones are expected to boast improvements including ramped-up processing power and camera capabilities, but no radical changes or offerings for 5G telecom networks that are starting to take shape.
Apple last month delivered stronger-than-expected results in the just-ended quarter as growth from services helped offset weak iPhone sales.
Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook said that the company had its “biggest June quarter ever — driven by all-time record revenue from services, accelerating growth from wearables, strong performance from iPad and Mac and significant improvement in iPhone trends.”
Long the driver of Apple’s money-making machine, iPhone revenue overall was down 12 percent from last year to US$26 billion.
The premium smartphone market has grown fiercely competitive and overall sales have cooled as a lack of stunning innovation has caused people to wait longer before upgrading to new models.
Rivals in the premium smartphone market also field champions to fight for market share during the prime shopping season.
Google typically holds a fall event to launch new Pixel smartphones powered by its Android software.
Samsung recently introduced a new-generation Galaxy Note large-screen handset starting at US$950 and said it will work closer with Microsoft so that services function better across its array of devices.
Separately, Apple said that it will begin supplying parts and training to independent repair shops, offering more options to service for devices made by the California tech giant.
The change of course came in the face of criticism that the iPhone maker’s tight grip on where repair work could be done was unfair.
The new repair program for out-of-warranty iPhone fixes is starting in the US and will eventually be expanded internationally, the company said.
“We’re making it easier for independent providers across the US to tap into the same resources as our Apple Authorized Service Provider network,” Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams said in an online post. “We believe the safest and most reliable repair is one handled by a trained technician using genuine parts that have been properly engineered and rigorously tested.”
Apple claims to have more than 5,000 authorized service centers around the world, but has long discouraged service or repairs outside its network.
There will be no cost for independent repair shops to take part in the program, which will require them to have an Apple-certified technician on staff, it said.
Apple said it will provide qualifying shops with parts, tools, training, manuals and diagnostics.
Apple recently began some device repairs to be done by authorized technicians at major US electronics goods chain Best Buy.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last