Latest iPhone 8 design concept
This fall Apple is expected to introduce three new iPhone models: iterative iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus updates, and a third model with a new design and screen size. According to a new report today, however, the so-called premium iPhone 8 model may only be visually more advanced rather than functionally.
Samsung’s chip business has been increasingly left out in the cold by Apple as the company has favored Taiwanese rival TSMC for the A-series processors used it its iPhones and iPads. TSMC won all of Apple’s business for the A-series chips used in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7, and is reported to be the exclusive supplier for the 10nm A11 chip destined for the iPhone 8.
But it seems Samsung hasn’t yet given up hope of winning future business from Apple. Korea’s ET News reports that the company is accelerating plans for 7nm chips in the hopes that these might be used for next year’s iPhones …
According to new data from comScore MobiLens, Apple has taken the top spot as the most popular OEM among U.S. smartphone subscribers. As for the top smartphone platform, Apple came in second behind Android, but not by much…
Digitimes cites Chinese publication Liberty Times in reporting that Apple manufacturing partners Foxconn and TSMC are planning to bid for shares of Toshiba’s flash storage business. The move could bolster Toshiba against Samsung which leads in the memory space.
With the iPhone 8 expected to adopt a near-bezel-free design, featuring a curved OLED screen, we’ve today been given a preview of the type of look we might expect – from Apple’s biggest competitor. The latest leaks of the Samsung Galaxy S8, due to be launched next month, show exactly this type of form factor.
Samsung has, however, taken a less hi-tech approach than that rumored for the iPhone 8 …
While Apple still holds a commanding lead, a new survey from research firm Reputation Institute claims that both Apple and Samsung have suffered significant drops in their reputations over the last year. The data, which was collected from over 170,000 consumers, shows that Apple has slipped to the 20th spot on the list, while Samsung dropped to number 70.
This week is Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and that means almost all of Apple’s biggest competitors are getting together to show off their latest phones, tablets, and other gadgets. Yesterday was the official press day, so let’s take a look at all the devices that were announced by Samsung, LG, Sony, Huawei and others…
A note today from Drexel Hamilton’s analyst Brian White via Business Insider shares that he believes “Apple has Samsung on the ropes like never before in recent memory.” The competition between the two companies has been intense for years, but there are four factors he believes will help Apple solidify its lead this year.
Each year, Harris Polls runs rankings of the top 100 “most visible” companies operating in the United States, ranking them by their reputation among customers who participate in the survey. This year, in a survey of 30,000 customers, Apple has taken the 5th spot.
Fortune has announced its annual list of the world’s most admired companies, and for the 10th year in a row Apple has taken first place.
Arch-rival Samsung dropped out of the top 50 this year, Fortune explaining that its exploding batteries caused too much damage to both its sales and reputation.
The method used to calculate rankings is nothing if not thorough …
In a new NOVA documentary episode that recently aired on PBS, David Pogue hosts and checks out a next generation battery invented by Mike Zimmerman that won’t explode like the Samsung Note 7 (or create a thermal event) even when cut or punctured. The Search for the Super Battery episode is an hour-long look at “the hidden world of energy storage and how it holds the keys to a greener future.”
With the lithium-ion waste fire at Samsung’s SDI battery factory this week, it’s clear the evolution of batteries should not only focus on capacity, function and end-user safety, but should also consider the employees that produce batteries and the waste’s environmental impacts…
In what has become a never-ending patent battle, a federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered that the Apple v. Samsung case be sent back to a lower court. As noted by CNET, the district court will decide whether or not to hold another damage retrial or settle the case in another fashion.
The Samsung v. Apple case will be sent back to where it originally started back in 2012, the Northern District Court of California.
As CES 2017 winds down, Samsung today made one more announcement, this time for iOS users. The company has announced that it expanding support for iOS with its latest Gear-branded wearables.
Specially, the Gear S2, Gear S3, and Gear Fit2 are now compatible with iOS thanks to new accompanying apps…
We’re still several months away from the next major iPhone launch so the rumors don’t paint a particularly clear picture of what to expect just yet. Digitimes points to a new supply chain report, however, that continues to believe a new 5.8-inch iPhone with an AMOLED panel supplied exclusively by Samsung is in the works…
Analysts say that device activations show that Apple wasn’t able to capitalise on the dramatic recall of Samsung’s Note 7. Despite the damage done to Samsung’s reputation, and the opportunity that created for Apple to persuade owners to switch platform, most Note 7 buyers ended up replacing it with another high-end Galaxy phone, said Stephen Baker, primary hardware analyst at tech industry research firm NPD.
Samsung was able to fend off other Android competition, and Apple, too, thanks to Apple’s own lack of a wowing product this year.
Mobile industry consultant Chetan Sharma agreed with NPD’s assessment …
In a new report released today by Flurry Analytics, Apple has again once topped the charts this holiday season. Using a mix of phone and app activations, Flurry discovered that Apple saw more than double the number of smartphone activations as Samsung, and a noticeable increase in phablet device activations.
Samsung is said to be considering spinning off its chipmaking division in response to losing Apple’s A-Series chip business.
Apple’s A-series chip orders for iPhones and iPads used to be split between Samsung and TSMC, but Apple dropped Samsung for the A10 chip in the iPhone 7 and is reported to be doing the same for the A11 chip in next year’s iPhone …
[UPDATE: Apple has responded to the news: “The question before the Supreme Court was how to calculate the amount Samsung should pay for their copying. Our case has always been about Samsung’s blatant copying of our ideas, and that was never in dispute. We will continue to protect the years of hard work that has made iPhone the world’s most innovative and beloved product. We remain optimistic that the lower courts will again send a powerful signal that stealing isn’t right.”]
The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Samsung over Apple in the latest chapter of the years-long dispute over iPhone design patents. The decision isn’t totally surprising given some tell-tale signs ahead of today’s announcement, but it does mean that the case will once again continue in a lower court where a new sum for damages owed will be decided.
It seems that the iPhone 7 won’t be the only flagship smartphone to ditch the 3.5mm headphone socket: SamMobile is reporting ‘confirmation’ of an earlier rumor that Samsung’s Galaxy S8 – set to be unveiled in February – will follow Apple’s lead.
With both smartphone and PC sales plateauing, tech giants like Apple and Samsung are always looking for new markets. Apple of course made a big bet on music with its $3B acquisition of Beats, and Samsung is now making an even bigger play by announcing plans to buy U.S. automotive component maker Harman International.
The WSJ reports that the $8B deal will be the biggest one Samsung has ever struck, and it has more than a little in common with Apple’s purchase of Beats …
An Australian surfing instructor has told 7 News that an iPhone 7 left in a car caught fire, destroying the vehicle.
Mat Jones says he had left the phone under clothes in his car while taking a surf lesson. When he returned, he was shocked to discover the vehicle filled with smoke.
It hasn’t yet been confirmed that the phone was the cause of the fire: Apple says that it is aware of the incident and is investigating.
Some commentators are drawing the inevitable but spurious comparisons with Samsung’s Note 7 fires …
You know how it is, you love your iPhone, but sometimes another manufacturer comes out with a phone that just seems a little … hotter.
The never-ending court battle between Apple and Samsung over three iPhone design patents finally reached the Supreme Court yesterday. It had earlier been found that a total of 11 Samsung phones copied three design elements patented by Apple – including the famous ‘black rectangle with rounded corners.’ Lower courts ruled that Samsung should have to pay 100% of the profits earned from those phones, while Samsung thinks it should pay less.
Remarks by two of the Justices seem to indicate that they are leaning heavily towards Samsung’s side of the argument. Samsung’s position is that the patented features represent only part of the reason for purchase, and that they should accordingly have to hand over only part of the profits earned from them …
The BBC has an interesting take on the Apple versus Samsung patent case that is finally heading to the Supreme Court today, arguing that a definitive ruling is needed in order to bring a 19th Century law into the 21st Century. It also explains why the legal battle probably won’t end with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
A one-paragraph recap for anyone who hasn’t been following the case closely. Samsung infringed several of Apple’s design patents – that is, patents concerned with how things look (in either hardware or software) rather than what they do. Samsung is no longer denying that. The lower courts ruled that Samsung must pay all of the profits made by infringing these patents. That’s the bit Samsung is fighting, arguing that it should pay a much smaller sum.
And it is this element of patent law which the BBC’s Dave Lee suggests needs to advance a century or two …