News Analysis India

Tag: iPhones

  • Jobs Galore At Apple, Company To Employ 5 Lakh People In India |

    New Delhi: Apple, a Cupertino-based company, aims to boost local value addition from its Indian suppliers, mirroring its strategy in China. Currently, Apple’s India value stands at 11-12%, projected to rise to 15-18% according to ET. India currently contributes around 7 per cent to global iPhone sales, a figure poised to potentially reach 25 per cent by 2030.

    In China, Apple boasts the highest domestic value addition globally at 28 per cent.

    According to ET, Apple aims to transfer at least half of its current supply chain from China to India in the next three years. This shift could result in around five lakh direct employment opportunities for component manufacturers and suppliers within Apple’s ecosystem, marking a significant three-fold increase in job creation. (Also Read: Apple Doubles iPhone Production In India Diversifying From China: Report)

    Meanwhile, Experts suggest that as India becomes a crucial market for exporting and locally selling Apple products, it will stimulate a thriving supplier network. Additionally, India has the potential to emerge as a significant R&D hub for software-to-silicon design. 

    “The current local value addition, which is a contribution to the dollar value of the total manufacturing and design cost in an iPhone produced in India, stands at 14% compared to 41% in China,” said Neil Shah, vice president at Counterpoint Research.

    “With the right investments and expansion, Apple has the potential to increase it to more than 20% in the next three to five years,” he added. (Also Read: Bumper Sale! iPhone 15 Available at Lowest Price Ever on Amazon India; Check Discount, Specs)  

    Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, stated in February that the company is witnessing robust double-digit growth in many emerging markets, achieving records in several countries, including a December quarter milestone in India.

  • Agency in Brazil Demands Apple Re-Bundle Chargers With New iPhones

    A consumer protection agency in Brazil is demanding that Apple re-bundle new iPhones with a charger, citing the company’s rationale of reducing carbon emissions as suspect. 

    In October, Apple revealed the iPhone 12 would be sold without a power adapter in an effort to downsize the packaging, and thereby minimize the environmental impact. 

    However, Procon-SP, Sao Paulo’s consumer protection agency, has called on Apple to bring back the power adaptors, saying local consumers expect them to be bundled with their new iPhones.

    Apple should have done more to notify customers about why it removed the power adapters from the iPhone 12, the agency says. Procon-SP is also skeptical of Apple’s environmental-impact claims, noting that the company didn’t offer to recycle old iPhone power adapters.

    Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Procon-SP says the company argues that existing iPhone owners already own a compatible charger. Thus, there’s no need for Apple to churn out extra power adapters and add more carbon emissions to the planet. 

    The Procon-SP review could result in a fine if Apple is found to have violated local consumer protection laws. European lawmakers have also been calling on Apple to build iPhones with a USB-C port instead of a Lightning one in an effort to reduce the number of compatible chargers consumers need to own.

  • WhatsApp Android app is getting face unlock for better security

    Facebook-owned WhatsApp is gearing up to roll out face unlock security option for its Android app. The feature is already available on iPhones, however, is missing on Android. As per a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApps has already submitted the update through Google Play beta program. WhatsApp for Android already has a fingerprint biometric security option.
    While there is no official release date, you can expect face unlock to come to Android phones soon. Once it is rolled out you will get the option to use your Android phone’s face unlock to secure your WhatsApp chat. However, note that this is device centric. The moment you change your phone, you will have to turn on ‘face unlock’ on the new phone to use the feature. This security feature is similar to fingerprint biometric lock and should not be confused with WhatsApp pin.
    Meanwhile, WhatsApp is now allowing users to mute contacts and groups forever. Earlier, you just had the option to mute somebody or a group for a maximum of up to year. Now, you can simply mute somebody or a group forever and forget.

  • Apple India Online Store Now Accepting Preorders For Apple iPhone 12 And iPhone 12 Pro

    Right on cue, the Apple India Online Store is now accepting preorders for the new Apple iPhone 12 and the Apple iPhone 12 Pro. The two phones can now be preordered with deliveries for both starting October 31. The iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro are the first iPhones of the 2020 line-up to go on preorders in India. The prices for the iPhone 12 start at Rs 79,900 while the prices of the Apple iPhone 12 Pro start at Rs 1,19,900. All storage and colour options for the Apple iPhone 12 and the Apple iPhone 12 Pro are available for preorder. According to estimates on the Apple India online Store, the deliveries for the iPhone 12 start October 31 while the deliveries for the iPhone 12 Pro Graphite and Silver colour options also starts on October 31 but the Gold and Pacific Blue versions start November 6.

    The iPhone 12 costs Rs. 79,900 for the 64GB storage variant, while the 128GB variant costs Rs. 84,900. The 256GB storage option for the iPhone 12 has been priced at Rs. 94,900 in India. This means, you can choose between the 64GB, 12GB and 256GB storage options as well as the Blue, Green, Black, White and (PRODUCT)RED colours. The iPhone 12 Pro costs Rs. 1,19,900 for the base 128GB storage variant, Rs. 1,29,900 for the 256GB option, and Rs. 1,49,900 for the top spec 512GB storage option. This will be available in the new Pacific Blue as well as Graphite, Silver and Gold colour options. We tried checking out with the preorder for the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro, and at this time, the Apple India online store does not list any cashback offers for any credit cards, but does have the EMI options for most card payments.

  • MagSafe Charger found to work on Galaxy Z Fold2, Pixel 5

    Arguably the most attention-grabbing addition of the iPhone 12 series (apart from 5G) is the new MagSafe accessory ecosystem. The premise is simple all new iPhones have a magnetic ring around the wireless charging coil on their backs, which can snap to a range of accessories from wallets to mounts and wireless charging pads. The MagSafe charger is Apple’s first foray into wireless charging for iPhone after the whole AirPower fiasco but now it was found to be working just fine on some non-Apple phones. Granted the MagSafe charger works on the Qi interface so any device that supports the standard will get juice from it. It’s currently the only way to get 15W speeds through wireless charging on iPhones but now we get to see it actually attaches to other magnet-touting phones as well. Max Weinbach tested out a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 which has its own set of magnets to help it stay closed and it worked just fine.