In a world increasingly driven by technological advancements, the influence of major tech companies extends beyond the realms of innovation and market competition. Apple, one of the leading players in the tech industry, possesses the potential to impact the global political landscape. This article explores the various ways in which Apple could shape the future of the global political environment. (more…)

Apple continued to excel in China’s smartphone market, exhibiting an 8% YoY increase without facing any significant competition during the 618 sales period in 2023 (June 1-June 18), even as China’s smartphone sales fell 8% YoY, indicating weak customer demand for smartphones amid economic headwinds, according to Counterpoint’s 618 Sales Period Thematic Report. Note: 2023 618 period starts from June 1st to June 18th.Source: Counterpoint Market Pulse Service Vivo secured the largest share in the 618 sales period this year, capturing 18.2% of the market. Vivo was followed by Apple, which only sells premium smartphones, at 17.9% and HONOR at 15.4%. The weak sales during the 618 period also fell short of earlier expectations, despite efforts by most Android OEMs…

Apple's market capitalization has once again hit $3 trillion as the company's shares opened at $191.78 this morning, up just over 1% compared to yesterday's closing price. It has been nearly 18 months since Apple very briefly hit the milestone in January 2022 before declining along with the overall market. At the beginning of this year, Apple's value dipped below $2 trillion, but the company's shares have risen 53% so far this year, pushing them back to all-time highs in recent days. Reaching the $3 trillion market capitalization milestone again has required a slightly higher share price than it did 18 months ago as Apple has continued to aggressively buy back its stock, reducing the overall share count of the…

Sam Esmail’s years-in-the making adaptation of Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 sci-fi film “Metropolis” has been permanently shut down due to labor unrest against the background of economic headwinds. “Metropolis” – Fritz Lang 1927 Nellie Andreeva for Deadline: The big-budget UCP [Universal Content Productions] series for Apple TV+, which had been prepping in Australia, has permanently shut down. The crew was just notified that the ambitious project will not move forward with production, which had been targeting a summer start. UCP confirmed to Deadline that Metropolis has been scrapped. “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision,” a rep for the studio said. Metropolis had been in limbo for the past seven weeks. Since production…

Macworld When Apple released the 15-inch MacBook Air at WWDC, no one was surprised that the new laptop was merely a larger version of the 13-inch MacBook Air with a slightly large screen, trackpad, and body. What was surprising was the price: Instead of adding $200 or $300 to the price of the existing MacBook Air, making the new model $1,399 or $1,499, Apple priced the new MacBook Air at $1,299 and cut the price of the 13-inch model by $100. And if you drill down, the price is even more surprising. The 15-inch Air starts with the “full” M2 Pro processor with 10 GPU cores, which is a $100 upgrade on the 13-inch MacBook Air. That means the 15-inch…

Macworld When Apple released the 15-inch MacBook Air at WWDC, no one was surprised that the new laptop was merely a larger version of the 13-inch MacBook Air with a slightly large screen, trackpad, and body. What was surprising was the price: Instead of adding $200 or $300 to the price of the existing MacBook Air, making the new model $1,399 or $1,499, Apple priced the new MacBook Air at $1,299 and cut the price of the 13-inch model by $100. And if you drill down, the price is even more surprising. The 15-inch Air starts with the “full” M2 Pro processor with 10 GPU cores, which is a $100 upgrade on the 13-inch MacBook Air. That means the 15-inch…