Every year, many companies introduce special products based on the signs of the zodiac to celebrate the New Year in Japan. As 2025 will be the Year of the Snake, Apple has now announced a limited edition AirTag with a unique snake engraving.
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Earlier this year, Apple announced major changes coming to iOS users in the European Union following the Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust legislation, which forced the company to allow alternative app stores – or App Marketplaces – on iOS. Now the government of Japan has passed a similar law that will also force the company to allow App Marketplaces for Japanese iOS users.
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There’s good news and bad for Apple in two different market intelligence reports. One points to Apple’s market share rising and continuing to utterly dominate the Japanese smartphone market, while the other describes a dramatic slump in iPhone sales in China.
When it comes to Japan, it’s long been the case that there’s Apple, and then, a long way behind, there’s everyone else …
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As the Digital Markets Act antitrust law passed in the European Union, Apple has until March 2024 to let users in Europe install iOS apps outside the App Store. Although Apple has yet to say a word about how it will do this, regulators around the world have also been considering applying the same demands to the company – and Japan could be the next country to do so.
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Authorities in Tokyo are asking Apple to pay $98 million in back taxes after incorrectly exempting foreign tourists and resellers from a consumption tax. Nikkei reports that Apple stopped tax-free shopping in June after incorrectly exempting bulk orders of iPhones and other hardware.
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Apple on Thursday raised the price of iPhone models in Japan, making the product more expensive for Japanese consumers. In some cases, prices are now almost 20% higher, which may be a reflection of the local currency getting weaker against the dollar.
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The iPhone 12 led record smartphone shipments in Japan in the past 12 months, including a dramatic boost in 5G models. Japan saw a 17% increase in smartphone shipments, and a 40-fold increase in shipments of 5G smartphones.
Apple was the clear market leader in 5G phones, accounting for almost half of total shipments, with Samsung and three Japanese brands making up the rest of the top five …
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Tim Cook is in Japan at present and tweeted about his meeting with local app developers aged 13 and 84.
What a treat to reunite with Masako san and Hikari san, some of our imaginative developers who prove that no matter your age, coding opens up new opportunities to follow your dreams! Wonderful to see you at Apple Omotesando!
A Japanese communications panel said on Monday that the country should consider legal action to begin imposing domestic-level rules on tech giants not based in Japan, such as Apple, Facebook ,and Google.
An investigation spanning almost two years has concluded that Apple ‘may’ have breached antitrust rules in Japan by forcing carriers to sell iPhones at an apparent discount …
Apple looks set to be opening a ninth Apple Store in Japan. The company is currently recruiting all the usual store positions in the city of Kyoto …
Apple has released a new iPhone 7 ad called “Race” made exclusively for Japan. The new 30-second spot features the Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus and a very fast-paced run between two men through a busy part of town. The ad concludes with the iPhone-equipped man winning the so-called race by using Apple Pay to quickly board a train…
Alongside the introduction of iOS 10.1 and watchOS 3.1, Apple has switched on support for Apple Pay in Japan. This makes the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 compatible with the FeliCa contactless payment system used by almost two million payment terminals in the country.
Supporting Apple Pay in Japan was not a trivial undertaking for Apple. Although FeliCa is an NFC-based contactless payment system, it’s not compatible with the systems used in most other countries. Apple had to equip Japanese devices with a different NFC chip to support FeliCa – also used in Hong Kong and Singapore – which is bad news for the rest of us when travelling to the region …
Apple has cut the price of its iPhone lineup in Japan including the brand-new iPhone SE, by approximately 10% across the board. The price drop can be seen online on Apple’s Japanese storefront, via Macotakara.
A 16 GB iPhone SE was selling for 52800 yen (483 dollars). The new price from today is 47800 yen (437), representing an approximate $50 saving in dollar terms. Full list of price changes after the jump …
Analysis of retailer data in Japan indicates that early buyers of the iPhone SE are favoring the 16GB model over the 64GB one, possibly suggesting that the majority are buying on price. Life science researcher Naofumi Kagami says that this is particularly interesting as you’d expect early sales to be skewed towards early adopters, who tend to opt for the higher tiers.
Apple’s planned R&D center in Yokohama, Japan, appears to have fallen behind schedule. We got our first look at renders of the funky-looking building a little over a year ago, when the city’s mayor reported that construction would begin in 2015 and complete in 2016. But Japanese blog Macotakara now reports that a construction board outside the site says that it will instead complete in March 2017.
Apple has today updated its list of iOS 9 feature availability to note the addition of its Maps ‘Nearby’ feature for more countries.
We’ve all been there, right? You download a game, can’t be bothered to play it so you build a robot to do it for you …
Apple cancelled a talk scheduled to be held yesterday at its Tokyo Ginza retail store after a handwritten bomb threat was received, reports Public Slate. The store was closed for an hour while police searched for explosives, but nothing was found.
The event was to feature guest, Isao Yukisada, a Japanese film director. The director was scheduled to speak at 2 p.m.
It’s not known why the event was targeted.
The store previously made the news when it opened its doors early to allow queuing iPhone customers in before an approaching typhoon hit.
Via CoM
The Apple SIM, which allows iPad owners to use a range of carriers at home and overseas without having to swap SIMs, is now available in Japan. Apple has added Japanese carrier au to its list of supported networks.
Apple first offered its own SIM in the U.S. and UK, later adding Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey to the list.
Although you can only get the SIM in 13 countries, you can use it in more than 90 thanks to the inclusion of GigSky back in June.
via <a href="https://twitter.com/iPhonemods/status/647119325090807808" target="_blank">Twitter</a>
While at least one person in the United States has already received their iPhone 6s after pre-ordering with the rest of us, iPhone 6s launch day has officially kicked off on the other side of the planet. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus go on sale at 8 am local time in a dozen markets around the world. New Zealand goes first at authorized resellers as there are no Apple Stores in the country, then the first Apple Stores in Australia two hours later, followed Japan and China and others before starting in the United States 16 hours from the start.
Earlier this week, all models and configurations of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus became sold out online for pre-ordering with launch day delivery. The larger iPhone 6s Plus models were among the first to sell out for launch day, although that may be in part due to display production issues and not just demand. Still, Apple Stores and carriers alike will have limited launch day inventory if you’ve waited and decide to take a gamble at getting the model you want.
Do you plan to queue up outside your Apple Store for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus this year or did you send your robot instead? Send your launch day photos to tips@9to5mac.com and check out the scenes below as you await your new iPhone.
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Line, best known for its messaging app, has launched its own streaming music service in Japan, ahead of Apple Music’s release. Available on iOS and Android, Line Music offers a two-month free trial, then costs 1,000 yen ($8) per month, with a half-price option offering up to 20 hours per month.
While Line may have beaten Apple to the punch in Japan, it is lagging some way behind on tracks. Although TNW says the company plans to hit 30M tracks by next year, matching Apple, it currently has only around 1.5M – comprising a mix of local and international artists. The service is available only in Japan and Thailand.
A separate report suggests that Apple Music may launch in India at the heavily-discounted price of 120 Indian Rupees – equivalent to just $2/month. Other streaming music services in India charge similar sums, reflecting far lower average incomes in the country.
Apple’s first ever Japanese bond sale will raise more than had been previously estimated. An SEC filing reveals that the sale will raise ¥250B ($2B), more than the ¥200 billion ($1.6B) which had been reported earlier.
Apple is selling the bonds in Japanese yen due to the extremely low interest rates in the country, with Apple offering a rate of just 0.35%, paid twice a year in June and December. Goldman Sachs, one of the two underwriters of the bond issue, said that the market would welcome the offering.
“It’s Apple’s first time issuing in yen. Their ratings, credit fundamentals and familiarity within the Japanese market are very high,” said a Goldman Sachs banker. “The outcome proves how much the market welcomed seeing this issuer come up.”
Although Apple has huge cash reserves, the majority of this is held overseas and cannot be repatriated back to the U.S. without large tax liabilities. It is cheaper for the company to borrow money to fund its stock buyback program and to fund dividend payments. Apple announced in April that it will spend $200B by the end of March 2017 on a mix of share repurchases and dividend payments.
Photo: randomwire.com
Jay Blahnik, one of the lead directors behind the health and fitness functionality in iOS 8 and the Apple Watch, is continuing to host events at Apple Stores. At the end of April, Blahnik held an interview with Christy Turlington Burns at an Apple Store in the United Kingdom, and now Blahnik is making his way to Australia and Asia. Late last week, Blahnik held a Q/A session in Australia with personal trainer Michelle Bridges. Here are videos of Blahnik discussing the importance of walking along with other health tips with Bridges:
