TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) is reporting first quarter 2022 revenue between $17.6 billion and $18.2 billion, a 35.5 percent increase year-over-year. Compared to Q4 2021, the first quarter results represent a 12.1 percent revenue uptick and 22 percent growth in net income. This, despite ongoing fallout from supply chain shortages that company CEO C.C. Wei says he expects will continue triggering production constraints. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, where the company has a plant, were cited as the most significant stressors to the company’s semiconductor output. Continue reading TSMC Posts Record Q1 Profits Despite Continuing Shortages

Meta Platforms’ future plans are coming into focus through leaks and the company’s admission that it plans to take a fee of up to 47.5 percent on digital asset sales transacted through the Meta Quest Store in the “Horizon Worlds” game. By 2024, the company reportedly plans to deliver its first generation high-end wireless AR glasses, developed as Project Nazare, along with a cheaper pair codenamed Hypernova. Meta aims to bundle both models with a wrist-worn controller that “hypothetically” issues instructions direct from the wearer’s mind, leveraging technology the company acquired with the 2019 purchase of CTRL-labs. Continue reading Meta Pushes Forward with Its Plans for High-End AR Glasses

Antitrust legislation pending in the U.S. and European Union is at odds with consumer privacy initiatives in those territories, Apple CEO Tim Cook told attendees of the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2022 in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. Speaking out against proposed “gatekeeper” rules, Cook warned that “when companies decide to leave the App Store because they want to exploit user data, it could put significant pressure on people to engage with alternate app stores — app stores where their privacy and security may not be protected.” Continue reading Proposed Antitrust Laws a Privacy Disaster Warns Tim Cook

The competition for global computer chip dominance depends largely on who can create the smallest components with the most advanced capabilities. So far, Taiwan-based TSMC leads, and the nation accounts for more than 90 percent of global production of advanced chips. By comparison, the U.S. claims about a 12 percent share, prompting the government to cite reliance on foreign-made processors as a cause of inflation and a national security threat. California-based Intel is heeding the challenge, spending billions on initiatives for AI computing, a high-end microprocessor plant expansion in Arizona and new plant in Ohio. Continue reading Intel Vies for Lead in an Increasingly Complex Chip Business

In April, Apple gave consumers the option to turn off ad tracking on iPhones, and this month Google began revealing plans to replace traditional cookie tracking with what it says will be a less intrusive measure. Experts say, however, these changes don’t actually safeguard data privacy. Rather, companies are taking a new approach that consolidates data power among fewer gatekeepers, a change some say may be for the worse. The new method, known as “first-party” tracking, prevents accruing a tracking history from app to app, but lets specific sites gather info with consumer permission. Continue reading Latest Privacy Moves Do Not Prevent Consumer Ad Tracking

Apple is exploring various financial technologies for future products that would reduce the company’s reliance on third-party products over time, reports say. Payment processing, lender risk assessment, consumer credit reports, dispute mediation and fraud analysis are among the areas Apple is looking into, according to those who claim knowledge of the situation. The move would build Apple’s profile in a category that currently includes Apple Wallet, branded credit cards, peer-to-peer payments and a merchant app involving iPhones. As previously reported, Apple is also working a subscription hardware model and further enhancements to Apple Pay. Continue reading Apple Explores Greater Role in Consumer Financial Services

The supply chain crunch is about to worsen due to a phased shutdown of Shanghai that began Monday, say recent reports. The coastal city of 26 million people — a seat of international finance and business, and home to the world’s biggest container-shipping port — finds itself grappling with its worst COVID-19 outbreak to date. Authorities have switched from temporary neighborhood lockdowns to a mandatory citywide shutdown in a phased implementation whose stage two runs Friday to Tuesday. China’s biggest chipmaker, however, and an iPhone plant are continuing to operate under strict rules in Shanghai. Continue reading China COVID Woes Cause Shutdowns, Supply Chain Impact

Apple is reportedly working on a plan that will make its popular iPhone and additional devices available on a subscription basis. Popular first among content providers, then software firms like Microsoft and Adobe, subscription contracts are less usual in the hardware space, other than the long-term payment plans mobile service providers add to a customer’s monthly bill for costlier phone models, including iPhones. Apple itself has been offering iPhones in monthly payments. A hardware “subscription” would possibly bundle other Apple products, like Apple TV and Apple Music. Continue reading Apple Reportedly Has iPhone Subscription Plan in the Works

Working with Arizona and Apple, the Transportation Security Administration has deployed digital verification for state-issued mobile driver’s licenses or identification cards stored in the Apple Wallet app on iPhones and Apple Watches. While 30 states say they are exploring digital IDs, Arizona becomes the first in which the TSA has begun using the system, activated Wednesday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. For now, the feature is available only for TSA PreCheck passengers at select checkpoints at one airport, but as other states’ device manufacturers sign on, TSA says it will expand the program. Continue reading Arizona Is First State to Accept Identification via Apple Wallet

The EU is preparing to finalize its Digital Markets Act (DMA) designed to neutralize Big Tech’s gatekeeper status by leveling the playing field with smaller competitors. The DMA, which could be completed by month’s end, has ramifications for Amazon, Google and parent Alphabet, and especially for Apple, which faces what some describe as an existential threat through provisions that would allow software to be downloaded outside the App Store and third-party payment systems inserted on apps, known as “sideloading.” Failure to comply could carry fines and penalties totaling tens of billions of dollars. Continue reading EU Digital Markets Act Poised to Compel Apple ‘Sideloading’

A recent COVID-19 surge in China has resulted in the temporary closure of electronics and automobile factories in the manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen and Changchun. In Shenzhen, iPhone supplier Foxconn announced it is halting operations in compliance with local government policy. The city has been placed on lockdown for at least a week, with all inhabitants to undergo three rounds of testing following the discovery of 86 new COVID-19 cases. Recent outbreaks in 28 of China’s 31 provinces have infected more than 15,000 people, primarily with the highly transmissible Omicron variant, according to China’s National Health Commission. Continue reading COVID Surge Triggers Factory Closures in China’s Tech Hubs

Google is debuting a host of new features for its Android mobile phone interface. Reactions between iPhone and Android users will now appear as emoji in text messages. Videos will be experienced by all recipients in the same resolution as when sent through Google Photos links in a conversation, a feature the company says will soon be available for photos, too. The Portrait Blur now available to Pixel users and Google One members through Google Photos is expanded to work on pets, plants and food, and will soon be rolled out to Android users. Continue reading Google Rolls Out New Features, Updates for Android Mobile

Rumblings are surfacing about the impact to Meta Platforms advertising on Facebook and Instagram due to increased costs resulting from the new user privacy policy introduced by Apple last summer. Meta expects to take a hit of as much as $10 billion to this year’s revenue as a result of the change, which requires users to grant permission to apps to track their activity for advertising purposes. Meta’s market value dropped by roughly $300 billion in the wake of that forecast. In light of Google’s discussion this month of implementing privacy changes of its own, it remains to be seen whether the changes are triggering a digital advertising transition or crash. Continue reading Apple Privacy Changes Hurt Meta, Help Google, Pundits Say

Google is working on measures to protect consumer privacy by limiting data sharing from Android OS smartphones. The Alphabet-owned company says its changes will not be as disruptive as steps taken last year by Apple, which revamped its iOS iPhone software so users were required to grant permission for ad tracking. The resulting volume of users who blocked tracking had a profoundly negative effect on companies that rely on targeted advertising. Google didn’t indicate when the changes will roll out, but did say it will support existing operating systems for two more years. Continue reading Google Promises Less Disruptive Privacy Changes for Mobile

Apple, the world’s most highly valued public company, hit an all-time quarterly revenue record of $123.9 billion for Q4, an 11 percent increase year-over-year. The company also saw profits up 20 percent to $34.6 billion for the quarter despite the supply chain issues that plagued the industry. “We are gratified to see the response from customers around the world at a time when staying connected has never been more important,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the company’s earnings release, attributing the robust performance to “our most innovative lineup of products and services ever.” Continue reading Apple Has a Record $123.9 Billion Quarter Despite Chip Crisis