TECHNOLOGY
Apple’s fee row continues
Apple Inc on Thursday rejected a request by Fortnite creator Epic Games to restore its account on the iPhone maker’s iOS platform in South Korea so that it could add its own payment option. Apple is battling a lawsuit filed last year by Epic, alleging that the smartphone maker abused its dominance in the market for mobile apps. Their dispute pivoted to South Korea last week when its parliament approved a bill that bans major app store operators, including Apple, from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commission on in-app purchases.
ELECTRONICS
Vivo reveals new phones
Android cellphone maker Vivo Communication Technology Co (維沃) yesterday announced its new X70 smartphone series, the first to include its self-designed V1 photo and video chip, which marks another step in device manufacturers moving to custom silicon. The trio of devices comes days ahead of Apple Inc’s anticipated iPhone launch event on Tuesday next week, with the top-tier X70 Pro+ built around the custom chip and a Qualcomm Inc Snapdragon 888 processor with integrated 5G. The previous X60 series was introduced just six months ago. As with fellow Chinese brands Xiaomi Corp (小米) and Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp (歐珀), Vivo has switched to an accelerated launch cadence, investing heavily in camera hardware and pushing to fill the void in the market left by Huawei Technologies Co (華為). Android makers are trying to challenge Apple on hardware and the push to customize the inner workings of devices reflects years of development.
UNITED STATES
Privacy bureau proposed
House Democratic lawmakers on Thursday proposed awarding the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) US$1 billion to set up a bureau dedicated to improving data security and privacy and fighting identity theft. The proposal, which Democrats plan to include in a US$3.5 trillion spending measure, would fund a new bureau over 10 years to address “unfair or deceptive acts or practices relating to privacy, data security, identity theft, data abuses,” a summary released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee said. The committee is to meet on Monday to take up the spending proposal, which includes US$30 billion to remove lead pipes and US$13.5 billion for zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford to close India plants
Ford Motor Co is to shut its car factories in India and record about US$2 billion in restructuring charges, scaling back significantly in a country that past management saw becoming one of its three biggest markets. Manufacturing of vehicles for sale in India is to stop immediately, affecting about 4,000 employees, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Ford plans to wind down an assembly plant in the western state of Gujarat by the fourth quarter, as well as vehicle and engine manufacturing plants in the southern city of Chennai by the second quarter of next year. “The decision was reinforced by years of accumulated losses, persistent industry overcapacity and lack of expected growth in India’s car market,” Ford India managing director Anurag Mehrotra said. “We have not been able to find a sustainable path forward to long-term profitability that includes in-country vehicle manufacturing.”
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