Thoughts Unboxed

The inevitable has happened. Apple has finally come under serious scrutiny from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) after the latter has sued the company for illegal monopoly over the smartphone market. The lawsuit is filed by the Justice Department alongside 16 other state and district attorney generals. The lawsuit alleges Apple has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by monopolizing or attempting to monopolize the smartphone market. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, accuses Apple of maintaining a monopoly over smartphones through contractual restrictions on developers and withholding critical access points. Apple's actions hinder the development of apps, products, and services that could reduce reliance on iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs. The company leverages its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, and various other entities. The Justice Departm

Holiday season is typically a busy season for shoppers, but right now, it's a busy season for the corporate lawyers across the technology industry. We have seen a ton of high-profile lawsuits over the past few months and now, Apple has been dragged into one as well. Daniel Ackerman, Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo and author of "The Tetris Effect," has initiated legal proceedings against Apple and other parties associated with the Tetris Movie. Ackerman alleges that the movie has unlawfully appropriated elements from his work, "The Tetris Effect." Published in 2016, Ackerman's "The Tetris Effect" seamlessly intertwines historical events with his personal research. The lawsuit contends that the movie improperly borrows from his work, particularly framing the game's release within the context of a "Cold War spy thriller." According to the lawsuit: The movie entitled "Tetris" demonstrated the confiscation of Dan

Apple has released its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, ending on July 1, 2023. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $81.8 billion, down 1 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.26, up 5 percent year over year.   Let's dive into the numbers and analyze the performance of the company during this period. Revenue Overview Overall, Apple's revenues for the quarter were $81.797 billion, showing a slight decrease compared to $82.959 billion from the same period last year. This marks the third consecutive quarter with a year-on-year revenue decline for the company. Net Income Growth Despite the slight dip in revenues, Apple's net income for the quarter experienced a modest increase, reaching $19.881 billion, compared to $19.442 billion during the same period in the previous year. Revenue Breakdown by Product Categories Despite breakdown of the revenue by product categories, Apple doesn't provi

During WWDC 2023, Apple finally unveils it's vision of augmented reality by introducting Vision Pro Handset. The input model for spatial computing by solely relying on hands, eyes and voice Tap fingers to select, flick to scroll. Voice input is done when on a search field. The digital crown is used to dictate the immersiveness level. When someone is nearby, the Handset would reveal eyes to the visitor. From the demo, this definitely look like an iPhone moment of Mixed Reality.

Apple's highly anticipated WWDC event is just around the corner, and the excitement is mounting as the company unveils the finalists for the prestigious Apple Design Awards 2023. This annual event, which originally started as the Human Interface Design Excellence Award (HIDE) in 1997, aims to honor the most groundbreaking apps and games designed specifically for Apple products. The diverse range of apps and games that have made it to the finals are organized into distinct categories, highlighting their unique qualities and contributions. Let's take a closer look at each category and its respective finalists:   Inclusivity Finalists in this category provide a great experience for all by supporting people from a diversity of backgrounds, abilities, and languages.    Anne    Universe — Website Builder    Passenger Assistance    stich.    Ancient Board Game Collection    Finding Hannah   Delight and Fun Finalists in this category provide memorable, engaging, and satisfying exper

  Apple's upcoming WWDC conference in 2023 is set to bring a significant innovation to its voice assistant, Siri. Instead of the familiar "Hey Siri" command, Apple plans to simplify the activation by using just "Siri." This change aims to enhance user convenience and streamline the interaction. However, this modification comes with its challenges. Apple needs to teach Siri to understand different languages, accents, and dialects accurately. The goal is to ensure that Siri responds effectively to user commands, regardless of linguistic variations. It must be noted Apple has prohibited the use of ChatGPT and other AI assistant tools.   Alongside the trigger phrase update, Apple aims to expand Siri's compatibility with third-party apps and services. This move will enhance Siri's overall functionality and broaden its capabilities. Apple is also investing in the development of Siri's language abilities through a framework called Siri Natural Language Gene

Get ready for a whirlwind week in tech! From surprising resurgences to massive fines, lawsuits, and AI impact, it's been an eventful time. Join our Weekly Recap for a concise summary of the biggest stories and developments in tech and current affairs. Stay informed with key highlights and noteworthy announcements in this comprehensive roundup.   China's Misinformation Crackdown China's Cyberspace Administration (CAC) completed a two-month probe targeting social media activities, resulting in the deletion of over 1.4M posts and 67K accounts. The crackdown focused on issues like impersonation of government officials and spreading misinformation. The CAC's actions raise concerns about online integrity and freedom of expression. YouTube bids farewell to Stories YouTube is discontinuing its Stories feature, originally introduced in 2017, due to lackluster adoption. Users will no longer be able to upload new stories, and existing stories will expire after 7 days. YouTube shi

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is one of the most hotly anticipated tech events of the year. Sometimes, it would correct the direction of the entire tech industry. The other times, it would convince the world they need another gadget in their lives. Not only media, fans and users look forward to this event, rivals also keep a deep tap on what would come out of Cupertino. It usually is a restless time for everyone until the Keynote is delivered. For the past few years, WWDC has been a bit muted if not outright meh. Except for Apple's in-house silicon announcement for Macs, there isn't anything major that has come out of Cupertino in almost a decade. Things may very well change this time around. The rumor mill is in full swing, especially surrounding Apple’s Mixed Reality Headset. Will Apple enter the nascent arena and create a completely new stream of revenue for Apple, or would it become one

 Apple has reportedly decided to postpone the release of MacBook Pros with OLED Panels, likely due to a recent decline in sales of the MacBook Pros. Over the past two quarters, MacBook sales have experienced a significant decrease of nearly 50%. In response, Apple has chosen to delay one of the most anticipated upgrades to the MacBook Pros, namely the introduction of OLED display panels. It's worth noting that the decline in sales is not exclusive to Apple computers alone. The entire PC industry has been adversely affected by this sudden and substantial sales slump. Chromebooks have been hit particularly hard, while other PC manufacturers have also struggled. Reports from Korean media outlet TheElec suggest that Samsung's plans for investing in Gen-8 OLED panels will also be put on hold, as Apple would have been one of the major customers for these panels. Apple, along with other technology companies, has been making adjustments to their plans in recent months, often cancellin