The amount available at the end of the day for either Apple or the Irish government from lengthy legal proceedings over the company’s Irish tax affairs lost almost a billion dollars in the last year ahead of the final ruling. If the EU wins, the sum will be handed over to the Irish government; if the EU loses, it will be returned to Apple. The Irish Times: A quick recap: the State set up the escrow account in 2018 to hold €14.3 billion of alleged back taxes and interest that the European Commission ordered it to collect from Apple, even as the State and the iPhone maker appealed the matter before the courts in Luxembourg. Apple and the Government won…

Beleaguered Samsung Electronics, peddler of pretend iPhones, reported a disastrous 96% plunge in second-quarter operating profit on Friday as the South Korean dishwasher maker estimated its operating profit fell to 600 billion won ($459 million) in April to June, from 14.1 trillion won a year earlier in a brief preliminary earnings statement. Samsung’s Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for bribery in January 2021 Reuters: It would be Samsung’s lowest profit for any quarter since a 590 billion won profit in the first quarter of 2009, according to company data. Shares in Samsung fell 1.4% in early morning trade, underperforming a 0.6% drop in the wider market. Samsung is due to release detailed earnings on…

Early next year, Apple is planning a retail launch of its Vision Pro headset in America with appointment-only sales and in-store promotions in its retail store chain. Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News: The company will designate special areas in the stores with seating, headset demo units and tools to size accessories for buyers. While the device will be sold at all of Apple’s roughly 270 US locations, the company is planning the sections for the Vision Pro initially at stores in major areas — such as New York and Los Angeles — before rolling them out nationwide, according to people with knowledge of the plans. Apple said it will offer the headset in…

Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive has revealed his latest project, a collaboration with British audio brand Linn to design a 50th anniversary edition of its Sondek LP12 turntable. The luxury $60,000 record player is the first non-Apple hardware project Ive is known to have been involved in since he and four other colleagues left the company in 2019 to found the design firm LoveFrom. The premium piece of audio technology features many of the classic hallmarks of an Ive-approved product, right down to the smoothed off aluminum edges, circular elements, and neutral, minimalist aesthetic. Speaking to Fast Company, Ive said he had owned multiple Linn products over the years, explaining that "music has always been profoundly important to…

When Apple unveiled the Vision Pro at WWDC in June, members of the press invited to try out the headset were able to use an optional secondary head strap that sits across the top of the head. The strap was spotted in Apple's promotional videos for the mixed reality device, but its marketing material made no mention of the accessory. Still from Apple's WWDC keynote video showing over-the-head strap in use The braided headband that goes around the back of the head has a fit adjustment dial, but the one headband may not be comfortable or secure enough for some users, especially if the device is going to be worn for extended periods of time, which is where the secondary…

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Apple’s contract chipmaker, said it doesn’t expect any immediate impact on its production from China’s decision to restrict the export of two metals widely used in semiconductors and electric vehicles. Ben Blanchard and Roger Tung for Reuters: In a move that a top Chinese trade adviser warned was “just a start,” Beijing said on Monday it would limit exports of products made from the minor metals of gallium and germanium to protect national security. That followed the U.S. decision to impose export restrictions to curb China’s access to key technologies used for artificial intelligence. Taiwan is a major producer of chips used in everything from smartphones and cars to fighter jets, supplying companies like Apple…