Apple assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., known as Foxconn, reported its third consecutive quarterly profit miss, after the company succumbed to a persistently weak Android phone market. The logo of electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is displayed at its headquarters in Taipei. Photo: Agence France-Presse Bloomberg News: The company known as Foxconn, which makes most of Apple’s signature devices, reported net income of NT$12.8 billion ($417 million) for the first three months. That compared with the NT$29.8 billion average analysts’ estimate. Revenue rose almost 3% for the period, based on monthly sales figures. Stronger-than-expected iPhone sales during the March quarter failed to completely offset weakness in overall Android phone-making. Foxconn and…

Macworld Google wrapped up another I/O keynote and we heard a lot of what we expected to: there are several new Pixel devices, a dig at Apple for not supporting RCS (can’t say we disagree there), and a massive focus on AI. It wasn’t just AI taking the stage at Google’s event, but generative AI. It’s an annoying name but an important distinction. Generative AI is that which creates new stuff, rather than simply analyzing and adjusting what already exists. DALL·E and Stable Diffusion create new artwork from a text prompt, they don’t just tweak the exposure and sharpen up an image you supply. Chatbots such as ChatGPT and Bard answer questions and perform tasks by making new text. There…

Macworld Unlike the iPhone, Apple ships a USB-C power adapter with all its MacBooks: Air and Pro. Unless your laptop stays in the same place all of the time, having a spare or a specific travel MacBook charger is a useful addition. You can buy a second Apple charger or check out more versatile, cheaper and smaller MacBook chargers to suit your needs and budget. It’s important to note that there are risks with buying a cheap charger and we don’t recommend you choose on price alone. That bargain MacBook charger might just fry your laptop or get dangerously hot. However, there are some great premium chargers from trusted brands that sell for less than Apple pricey chargers. What to…

Apple plans to release an iPhone with a microLED display in the future, according to a report today from supply chain publication DigiTimes. This display technology would allow for higher brightness, decreased power consumption, improved contrast ratio, and other benefits compared to current iPhones with OLED displays. The paywalled report claims the Apple Watch Ultra will be the first Apple device to switch to microLED, followed by the iPhone and iPad:Starting with Apple Watch, Apple plans to further introduce microLED display to iPhone and iPad. Some sources from IT industry forecast that Apple Watch Ultra will no longer use existing OLED display by end-2024 or 2025 as it will be replaced by Apple's self-developed microLED display.With the Apple Watch Ultra…

Apple plans to transition Macs and iPads to OLED displays over the next few years, but a new report out of Korea claims panel suppliers are holding back key investment in next-gen OLED production lines over rising concerns about slumping Mac sales. Apple will launch its first OLED iPads next year and South Korean panel makers intend to use their existing Gen 6 OLED lines to cover Apple's 2024 supply needs. But for iPads and MacBooks after that, Samsung Display and LG Display plan to build Gen 8 production lines, which yield more OLED panels per substrate than Gen 6 lines and are more cost effective. However, according to The Elec, the two panel makers have yet to place orders…

It looks increasingly likely that major Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will proceed with a factory in Germany. Adding a third continent would make the world’s biggest chipmaker a truly global enterprise, Tim Culpan writes for Bloomberg News. Tim Culpan for Bloomberg News: A site near Dresden in Germany’s northeast is the leading contender as TSMC negotiates with clients, car manufacturers and governments over incentives and costs. A possible venture with NXP Semiconductors NV, Robert Bosch GmbH and Infineon Technologies AG includes state subsidies and would have a budget of at least €7 billion ($7.7 billion), though presumed to be closer to €11 billion, Bloomberg News reported last week. The Hsinchu-based company said it is still assessing the…