iPhone Sales Could Face Major Setback in China if Trump Enacts Trade War

A collection of companies based in the United States could face “impaired” blowback if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his campaign plan of imposing a 45 percent tariff on imports from China, as well as considering China “a currency manipulator.” According to Chinese newspaper Global Times, these actions will not only negatively affect China’s reputation, but “the trade atmosphere between China and the US will become more tense” (via The Guardian).

In retaliation for the potential trade war, Global Times said that China “will take a tit-for-tat approach,” and singled out the airline, automobile, and smartphone industries as some of the first potential targets of the tense relationship between the two countries if Trump decides to commit to his trade plan. Specifically, in regards to Apple and the iPhone, the newspaper said that China will cut iPhone sales in the country and subsequently the device “will suffer a setback” if all of this goes through.

China will take a tit-for-tat approach then. A batch of Boeing orders will be replaced by Airbus. US auto and iPhone sales in China will suffer a setback, and US soybean and maize imports will be halted. China can also limit the number of Chinese students studying in the US.

Trump cannot change the pattern of interests between China and the US. The gigantic China-US trade is based on mutual benefits and a win-win situation. Even as president, Trump can exert limited influence on it.

Despite the potential for such a disruption, Global Sun thinks there’s a possibility that the 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports could have simply been outlandish “campaign rhetoric” and won’t be put into action during Trump’s presidency. The newspaper ends noting that “the new president will be condemned for his recklessness, ignorance and incompetence and bear all the consequences” if such a trade war does begin.

For Apple, the company has been consistently bolstering its presence in China, most recently announcing a new R&D center in Shenzhen to attract software developers. This year, China lost ground to Europe as Apple’s third most profitable market, but Tim Cook remains steadily “optimistic” about Apple’s presence in China, saying that “China is not as weak as has been talked about. We may not have the wind at our backs that we once did, but it’s more stable than the common view of it.”

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Amazon Music Unlimited now available in the UK

Prices start at £3.99 per month for playback on Amazon Echo; Prime members get a discount too.

Just a month after the service launched in the United States, Amazon Music Unlimited is available in the UK. As is standard for streaming services, Amazon gives you access to 40 million songs and curated playlists for £9.99 per month — with a bunch of discounts attached for customers already involved in the Amazon ecosystem.

If you just want to play music on the Amazon Echo, you can grab an “Echo-only” subscription, costing a mere £3.99 per month. For Prime members, a full subscription will set you back £7.99 per month or £79.99 annually.

Echo integration is a key differentiator for Amazon, with the company’s smart home products having launched in the UK only two months ago. With no word on any Google Home release date for British consumers, Amazon has a valuable head start.

Amazon Music Unlimited is available for the company’s own Fire devices, as well as iOS, Android, PC, Mac and on the web. As with the U.S. version of the service, here’s a free 30-day trial available too.

See at Amazon UK

Euro HTC 10 rumored for Nougat update in the next month

Late November or early December launch, according to tipster.

This one’s firmly a rumor for the moment, but it comes via a usually reliable source. Twitter’s @LlabTooFeR, who has a solid track record with HTC leaks, says the European variant of the HTC 10, is looking like it’ll get Android 7.0 Nougat around the end of November, or early December.

That’s broadly in line with the Q4 2016 window given by HTC for unlocked models. As always, carrier variants will almost certainly take longer to receive the update — possibly slipping into early 2017.

We already got a look at HTC Sense + Android 7.0 in the Sprint-exclusive HTC Bolt, announced in the past week.

HTC 10 (EU) to receive Android 7.0 update by the end of November – begging of the December.

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) November 14, 2016

In a separate tweet, the HTC leaker also says there’s new Google Pixel test firmware doing the rounds internally. (HTC is the original manufacturer of Google’s phones.) The new build NMF26I is numbered as Android version 7.1.1, bringing it in line with the current developer preview release for Nexus devices. A build number alone tells us nothing about what’s new in 7.1.1 for the Pixels, nor is it surprising to see 7.1.1 in testing for Google’s flagship phones.

In any case, with the possibility of Nougat OTAs from both HTC and Samsung before the end of December, we’re looking at a busy few weeks for Android updates.

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Google Play Music update adds machine learning and a fresh new look

Context awareness and AI smarts could help Google find more music that you’ll love.

Google has just announced the biggest overhaul of its Play Music streaming service in years. On the face of it, Play Music has moved beyond the card-centric design of old, and now shows an interface built around album art, bright colors and vector graphics. Instead of shaded squares, graphics now expand to fill the entire window. (And there’s a lot less orange going on, too.)

But aside from these superficial changes, the way Google recommends music for you is about to get a whole lot smarter, thanks to AI.

Google Play Music uses machine learning to figure out what music you like and then mixes in signals like location, activity, and the weather along with hand-picked playlists to personalize music for wherever you are and whenever you want tunes. Starting this week on Android, iOS and the web, the new experience will roll out globally (62 countries, to be precise).

When you opt in, we’ll deliver personalized music based on where you are and why you are listening — relaxing at home, powering through at work, commuting, flying, exploring new cities, heading out on the town, and everything in between. Your workout music is front and center as you walk into the gym, a sunset soundtrack appears just as the sky goes pink, and tunes for focusing turn up at the library.

Google says a new home screen will act as a “personal DJ” — one that’s sensitive not only to days of the week and time of day, but also where you are and what you’re doing. (Based on data from the sensors in your phone.) Ideally, Google will learn now only what kind of music you like in general, but what you prefer to listen to in specific places, at specific times, and while doing specific activities (for example, working out.)

And to make sure you’re never without music when you’re offline, the new version of the streaming app will maintain an offline playlist of stuff you’ve recently listened to at all times. It’s unclear exactly how this works, but we’re guessing it’s just Google being smarter about presenting music it’s already cached in the background.

We’re not yet seeing the Android update on any of our devices, however Google Play Music on the web already has the new look, if you want an early peek.

Samsung acquires Harman for $8 billion

Samsung has confirmed it has bought Harman International Industries for $8 billion in cash, at a value of $112 per share. Samsung says it’s bought Harman to give it a “significant presence in the large and rapidly growing market for connected technologies, particularly automotive electronics”.

• Harman Voyager Dashboard: Is a detachable car stereo speaker the future?
• Harman is buying Bang & Olufsen’s car audio unit for £106m

Harman has made several acquisitions already in the automotive market, including Bang & Olufsen’s and Bowers and Wilkins’ in-car audio subsidiaries and is considered, by Samsung at least, to be the market leader in connected car solutions.

Samsung hopes to combine Harman’s “experience designing and integrating in-vehicle technologies with Samsung’s expertise in connected mobility, semiconductors, user experience, displays and its global distribution channels.”

Consumers will eventually be able to benefit from enhanced user experiences “across Samsung’s complete portfolio of consumer and professional products and systems”.

Oh-Hyun Kwon, vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics said: “As a Tier 1 automotive supplier with deep customer relationships, strong brands, leading technology and a recognized portfolio of best-in-class products, Harman immediately establishes a strong foundation for Samsung to grow our automotive platform”.

Young Sohn, president and chief strategy officer of Samsung Electronics added: “We see substantial long-term growth opportunities in the auto technology market as demand for Samsung’s specialised electronic components continues to grow”.

Harman also owns established audio brands including JBL, Harman Kardon and AKG, all of which will “enhance the competitiveness of Samsung’s mobile, display, virtual reality and wearable products”, so expect better sound from future flat-screen TVs.

Best Black Friday UK fitness tracker deals: Garmin, Fitbit, Polar and more

Black Friday is turning into the biggest shopping day of the year, giving you the chance to snap-up a range of deals online and in store, saving yourself a packet in the run-up to Christmas. 

Black Friday officially falls on 25 November and we’re expecting fitness trackers to be seeing a lot of activity, pardon the pun. 

We’re keeping track of all the big deals, so you can snap-up a bargain. 

Amazon.co.uk fitness tracker deals

Amazon.co.uk has already started its huge Black Friday sales, with deals appearing from Monday 14 November. Here’s a run-down of some of the best deals, but you can always find more on Amazon’s Black Friday pages and we’ll be updating as more deals go live. 

• Jawbone UP2 Fitness Tracker, £39.99 (save £50) – click here to get this deal

John Lewis fitness tracker deals

John Lewis is one of the leading electrical retailers in the country, and also has a busting portfolio of fitness trackers and sports devices. Here are some top deals on device, to help you get fit, for less.

• TomTom Multi-Sport Cardio £250 (save £79) – click here to get this deal
• Polar Loop Activity Tracker 2 £69 (save £25.50) – click here to get this deal

More Black Friday UK deals

• Best Black Friday UK phone deals: Apple, Samsung, Android phone deals galore
• Best Black Friday UK TV deals: 4K, HDR, OLED TVs and more