Indian iPhone Users Discuss Apple’s Poor Services Performance: ‘Apple Maps is a Joke’

Apple’s ongoing struggles in India have been highlighted this week in a report by CNBC, which interviewed locals to ask about their experiences with the cost of Apple devices and the company’s services. Indian users were favorable of Apple Music over rival services — thanks to an improved catalog and affordable subscription price — but Apple Maps and Siri received much lower marks.

Echoing some complaints about the two services heard in other countries, including from United States users, Indian customers said that Apple Maps has sparse data for a number of cities and towns, misses landmarks, and lacks basic turn-by-turn directions. One user in Bangalore, Mihir Sharma, summed it up by stating, “Apple Maps is a joke in India.”

Other mapping complaints in India included the lack of similar navigation features within CarPlay. CNBC’s report on the topic comes nearly two years after Apple announced the opening of a new Hyderabad-based development center focused on improving Apple Maps in India.

Otherwise, many of the issues users had with Apple in the country focused on Siri, which is said to not understand “many words of Indian origination” and “often struggles” to make sense and correctly respond to Indian accents. Apple added Hindi dictation in iOS 11 last fall, including support for 11 local languages, but those locals asked said it still “isn’t good enough.” Rival AI assistants from Google and Amazon are both reported as performing better in India.

The poor performance of Apple’s services in India carries into the low sale volumes of its hardware, and analyst Faisal Kawoosa explained that the “Apple ecosystem isn’t aligned much to the usage and value of Indian users.” Data gathered by research firm Counterpoint said that Apple represented a total of 2.5 percent of India’s smartphone market as of the quarter that ended in December 2017.

“There is no denial that Apple ecosystem isn’t aligned much to the usage and value of Indian users. So, the services offered don’t have flavors that would entice the Indian users,” Faisal Kawoosa, an analyst with research firm CMR India said. “At the same time, the typical segment buying Apple products isn’t that typical Indian user. But, no brand can afford to underserve a segment — big or small,” he added.

In addition to the issues with Apple services, iPhones are more expensive in India due to the country’s charge on imported electronics, further lowering sales volume in the country. Apple has begun to manufacture the iPhone SE locally in India to sell it cheaper, as well as allow retailers to reduce the price of older iPhones, but all other models remain expensive. The cheapest iPhone 8 costs Rs 66,120 ($1,040) and the cheapest iPhone X costs Rs 92,430 ($1,450).

Even as Apple attempted to gain market share with older and cheaper iPhone models, the company increased the prices of most of its newer iPhones sold in India following the Indian government’s decision to raise taxes on imported smartphones. In the wake of this, Apple appointed Michel Coulomb as lead of sales operations in India, with the aim to help Apple in its attempts to gain a bigger share of the country’s smartphone market and boost local manufacturing.

During Apple’s Q4 2017 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook likened the company’s current struggle in India to “the many years” it put into fostering growth in China. Cook said it’ll take time to see India meet up with China in this regard, and will come with building stores, building the developer ecosystem, and more. He finished by stating, “I feel like we’re making good progress there and are gaining understanding of the market. But we still have a long way to go, which I sort of see as an opportunity, instead of a problem.”

Tag: India
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Mercedes’ EV future will rely on factories in three continents

Last year Mercedes-Benz announced electric versions of all its models by 2022, and now it’s detailed how it intends to reach that goal. The auto-maker has unveiled plans to pump 11 billion Euros ($13.6 billion) into building EVs at six factories on three continents and a global battery production network.

Going beyond concepts, the first all-electric car from its EQ sub-brand (the EQC SUV) will jump off the production line in Bramen, Germany, in 2019, followed by more EQ models from its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The global battery production network will support Mercedes’ grand ambitions, and currently comprises five battery factories on three continents.

We’ve seen other manufacturers spout similar EV deadlines, but laying down production plans (for both a battery supply chain and the cars themselves) suggests Mercedes means business. But, there is one small hitch: It seems the auto-maker’s plants are for battery packs, not cells, which they get from suppliers (as pointed out by Electrek).

Via: Electrek

Source: Daimler

Mazda says future gasoline engine as clean as an EV, well to wheels

Mazda is already working on the successor to its efficient Skyactiv-X motors, and thinks it could make cars as clean as EVs, if you take into account CO2 from electricity production. The automaker believes it can increase the efficiency of the Skyactiv-3 to 56 percent, close to the maximum theoretical thermal efficiency of an “Otto” cycle gas engine, Mazda’s Mitsuo Hitomi told Automotive News. If it can achieve that mark, it would reduce CO2 pollution by a quarter, making Skyactiv-3 motors as efficient as EVs on a well-to-wheels basis.

As a reminder, the Skyactiv-X motor combines the fuel-efficiency of diesel motors with gasoline’s lower pollution levels. It compresses the gasoline-air mixture much more than a regular motor, and then ignites it with “spark controlled compression ignition (SCCI)” tech. That allows more of the gases to be burned, providing 30 percent more power to the wheels for the same amount fuel.

Hitomi didn’t provide any details about how it can possibly build such a high-efficiency motor, and 56 percent thermal efficiency sounds like a nearly impossible mark. Also, his EV comparison claims don’t stand up in nations like France, which gets 90 percent of its power from non-CO2 sources.

Furthermore, Mazda’s Skyactiv-X motors aren’t due on the market until 2019, so the new Skyactive-3 tech won’t likely be coming until the early to mid 2020s. By the time it arrives, the mix of power plants will favor renewable energy to a higher degree, and EVs are bound to have much better range and lower prices.

Nevertheless, gasoline engines are still going to be around for a long time, and Mazda is one of the few automakers trying to improve them. If it manages to get to just half its goal, the Skyactiv-3 engines will still be far and away the most efficient available.

Source: Automotive News

Amazon gets into healthcare with Warren Buffet and JPMorgan

Amazon just took a surprising turn into the healthcare industry, teaming up with investing hero Warren Buffet and New York-based bank JPMorgan Chase, the Washington Post reports. The project is still in the planning stages, so there isn’t yet a lot of info on what form it will take. The idea, however, is to reduce costs while improving patient care with the aid of technology. “The ballooning costs of (health care) act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy,” Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffet said in a statement.

The new health company will be independent of its founding firms and “free from profit-making incentives and constraints,” it said. It will be led by executives from all three firms, with much of its focus on employer-granted health benefits, it seems. “Our goal is to create solutions that benefit our US employees, their families and, potentially, all Americans,” said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

There were some clues that Amazon was dabbling in healthcare. CNBC reported last summer that a secret “1492 squad” at Amazon was posting jobs related to the use of medical records, had invested in cancer startup Grail, and hired a healthcare and life sciences director away from Box. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also noted recently that Alexa and Echo devices could be used by both health providers and patients.

The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty. Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare’s burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort. Success is going to require talented experts, a beginner’s mind, and a long-term orientation.

Despite not having a single-payer system, US healthcare costs are the highest in the world, making it prohibitively expensive American consumers and companies alike. As the Post notes, only 50 percent of US firms with up to 49 employees offer coverage, down 66 percent from a decade to go. The Affordable Care Act requires all companies larger than that to offer it.

The news is certainly an eye-opener, and many investors, insurance companies, politicians and others will no doubt watch intently to see how the new company takes shape. Jeff Bezos, for his part, seems to have a realistic view of what it can accomplish, though.

“The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty,” he said in a statement. “Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare’s burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort. Success is going to require talented experts, a beginner’s mind, and a long-term orientation.”

Source: Washington Post

UK plans to let drivers report road accidents online

British road users may soon be able to report accidents online, under new plans drawn up by the Department for Transport. The consultation, opened today by Transport Minister Jesse Norman, will allow citizens to suggest new ways for drivers to share details of traffic incidents with police and save time in the process.

Drivers are required by law to report a serious accident by calling 999 or by attending a police station for more minor incidents. This needs to be done within 24 hours. By moving things online, it’s believed that the new process would make it easier for road users to file their report within that time, but also reduce the need for people to take time off work. Police forces wouldn’t need to spend time recording details at the counter (although this would still be available) freeing them up to tackle other crimes.

In addition to new driver-reporting tools, the Department for Transport will also provide police forces with a new Collision Reporting and Sharing System (CRASH) app that will be used to record accidents on scene. The app will reduce the time it takes to enter details of an incident and provide accurate locations via smartphone GPS.

The new plans, if supported, would not be forced upon police forces in England, Scotland and Wales. Instead, they would provide them with additional avenues to record accidents. If an online submission was deemed too troublesome, for instance, forces could decide to implement an automated telephone system instead. The government has already done away with the tax disc and scrapped paper counterpart for driving licences, shifting to more electronic systems.

“Current reporting arrangements still require these accidents to be reported by a driver in person at a police station or to a police officer. This does not reflect the 21st century capability to provide information in ways that better suit the citizen, and it ties up police time,” said Norman.

“As well as improving the service to the public, more efficient collection of accident data also holds out the possibility of more effective use of that data. By using themdata to establish trends, we will be able to develop better informed policy; highway authorities will be better able to think about road design; and the police will be better able to spot fraud.”

The consultation will run for twelve weeks and close on April 24th.

Source: Gov.uk

Microsoft is helping developers make cloud-connected games

Microsoft has acquired PlayFab, a game development startup that offloads the burdens associated with cloud-connected gaming for developers, allowing them to focus squarely on creating games. The terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed, but Microsoft will integrate PlayFab’s tools into its Azure cloud service, presumably in a bid to take on Amazon Web Services, which launched a similar set of tools two years ago.

Kareem Choudhry, vice president of gaming at Microsoft, noted in a blog post that more than 1 billion people are gaming, and as such the industry is moving into the cloud, largely because it improves security and gives gamers easier access to the multibillion-dollar gaming market. But this brings additional challenges for developers, who are then expected to provide extra game content — such as tournaments and analytics — long after a game has launched. “The cost and complexity of achieving this through custom-built, server-side tools and technologies is high,” Choudhry said.

PlayFab, which powers titles such as Angry Birds: Seasons and Roller Coaster Tycoon Touch, takes care of all of this with a model designed to scale with a game’s community, so even smaller developers will have the opportunity to compete in the cloud gaming market. “PlayFab’s backend services reduce the barriers to launch for game developers, offering both large and small studios cost-effective development solutions that scale with their games and help them engage, retain and monetize players,” Choudhry said. “PlayFab enables developers to use the intelligent cloud to build and operate games, analyze gaming data and improve overall gaming experiences.”

PlayFab CEO James Gwertzman formed the Seattle-based company in 2014. In a blog post he said, “We are humbled by the trust developers place in us when they depend on our services to run their games, and look forward to rewarding that trust with the entirely new level of features, resources, and support that this acquisition is going to enable.”

Source: Microsoft

Strava will focus on privacy awareness to address security issues

The CEO of fitness tracking app Strava has responded to security concerns raised this week regarding the publicly-available details of secret military bases. In a blog post, James Quarles addressed the sensitive nature of information readily available on the app’s heatmap feature and said the team is “taking the matter seriously”. Strava is “committed to working with military and government officials” to address the issue, he said, adding that the team is reviewing features that were originally designed for “athlete motivation and inspiration” to make sure they can’t be used nefariously.

He also said Strava would continue its push for privacy awareness, and that it plans to simplify the app’s safety features so users can better control their data. And herein lies the issue. While this sensitive information has appeared on Strava’s platform, the company can’t be held entirely responsible for the subsequent security risk. Many people aren’t aware of what their apps share with the world — and the issue certainly demonstrates that militaries don’t either.

Source: Strava

iPhone X Was One of the Top Three Best-Selling Smartphones in December 2017 Across Five Markets

Apple’s iPhone X made it into the top three best-selling smartphones in December 2017 “across all key regions,” according to new data tracked by Kantar Worldpanel. Specifically, Apple’s new iPhone X climbed best-selling charts in Europe, Japan, Australia, the United States, and China, where it was the top selling model during the holiday season this year.

Although iOS market share fell 0.5 percentage points in the U.S. during the October to December 2017 period (down to 43.9 percent), the researchers noted that iOS loyalty “reached a new high of 96 percent.” Ultimately, Kantar argued that Apple’s staggered release of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X has been a “sound” strategy with multiple price points offering entry points for a wider variety of consumers and “boosting” Apple’s smartphone OS share in these key markets.

“The full results for the last quarter of the year show that Apple’s decision to release three new handsets over a staggered period, including the ultra high-end iPhone X, has been a sound one. With Apple’s existing release structure, expectations would always be that the flagship model would be the top selling device in key developed markets, but with the premium price of iPhone X, real life affordability has come into play. Given that in December iPhone X made it into the top three best-selling devices across all key regions, particularly in urban China where it was the top selling model, the pricing strategy seems to have been vindicated.”

In total, Apple’s piece of the global smartphone OS market saw a percentage point increase across six markets in the three months ending December 2017. iOS market share climbed 0.5 percentage points in Spain and Japan, 0.7 in Europe, 1.2 in Australia, 2.5 in Germany, and 10.1 in China. Apple’s growth in China has “continued to impress” Kantar, with the iOS smartphone sales share in China growing from 24.3 percent in September-November to 28.6 percent in October-December 2017.

Besides Apple, Kantar also discussed Samsung and the Android OS market share, noting Android’s losses in a few markets (down 10.1 percentage points in China amid Apple’s rise). The researchers pointed out that these losses were “cushioned” to an extent by the “rapid fall of Windows,” which has a share now of under 1 percent in every market tracked by Kantar except Italy (1.9 percent).

With today’s report from Kantar, this marks the final time we’ll see smartphone OS market share data only focused on months in 2017. It should be interesting to see how Apple and iOS perform following the 2017 holidays and into the new year, amid ongoing reports in recent weeks focused on “weakened demand” and lowered production volume for the iPhone X in Q1 2018.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: Kantar WorldpanelBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Review: CalDigit’s ‘TS3 Plus’ Dock Gives You 15 Ports, 85W Charging, and an SD Card Reader for $250

If you’ve followed all of my Thunderbolt 3 dock reviews over the past year, you know that in general these docks carry a lot of the same features in slightly different combinations. But usually, there’s at least one fairly important feature that’s missing in each model, whether it be enough USB ports, an SD card reader, or enough power output to fully support a 15-inch MacBook Pro. Price tags pushing to $300 and beyond are also an issue for many potential customers.

So if any of those concerns resonate with you, you’re going to want to read on to learn more about CalDigit’s upcoming model, the Thunderbolt Station 3 Plus.

The TS3 Plus takes the original TS3 dock that I reviewed last May and addresses nearly every concern I had with it and even lowers the price during the promotional pre-order period to $250 with a 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable included. Packages with a 1.0-meter or 2.0-meter cable are also available for $270 and $280 respectively.

Design

The general design here is nearly identical to that of the earlier TS3 and even the Thunderbolt 2-based TS2 dock that preceded it. While most Thunderbolt docks have horizontal designs, CalDigit has generally opted for a boxier design that can sit either horizontally or vertically on a desk. Oriented vertically, the TS3 Plus stands just over 5 inches tall, a little under 4 inches deep, and just over an inch and a half wide, and weighs a hint over a pound. That makes it almost exactly the same size as and quite a bit lighter than the TS3.

If that’s too tall for your desktop, just slide on the included pair of rubber strips for cushioning and tip the dock over on its side, and it’ll fit just about anywhere. The aluminum casing has a ribbed design that gives it a bit of an industrial look while also offering some extra surface area for heat dissipation.

CalDigit touts a total of 15 ports on the TS3 Plus, with the front of the dock housing one USB-A port, one USB-C port, separate analog audio in and out ports, and even an SD card slot. A small blue LED lights up to let you know the dock is powered up and has a connection to the host computer.

Turn the TS3 Plus around and you’ll find a host of other ports, including four more USB-A ports, another USB-C port, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a DisplayPort 1.2 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an S/PDIF digital optical audio port, and the DC-in connection from the power supply.

USB Ports

If you did the math in the previous section, you’ve realized that the TS3 Plus has a total of seven USB ports. The previous TS3 had just three, while about the most I’ve seen in other competing docks is five. The inclusion of five USB-A and two USB-C ports and their distribution between front and back of the dock give you some great flexibility in what you can connect to this dock. The USB-C port on the rear is even a 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard, the first time I’ve seen that in a dock I’ve reviewed. The remainder of the USB ports are 5 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 1, which is the speed typically seen on these docks.

In my testing with a 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 CalDigit Tuff external SSD and Blackmagic’s speed testing software, I saw read and write speeds come in around 350 MB/s and 315 MB/s respectively through all of the 5 Mbps USB ports, both Type-A and the front Type-C style. Those are very typical speeds for these types of docks.

CalDigit Tuff connected to 5 Gbps USB-A port
Where the TS3 Plus has a leg up on the competition in the speed department is the extra Type-C 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 port on the rear of the dock. Connecting the CalDigit Tuff to that port yielded a 45–50 percent increase in transfer speeds, coming in at around 500 MB/s read and 475 MB/s write.

CalDigit Tuff connected to rear 10 Gbps USB-C port
Other docks can match that performance if you use the downstream Thunderbolt 3 port, but then you have to sacrifice connecting a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C display to that port. With the TS3 Plus, you can have both, and transfer speeds over the 10 Gbps USB-C port aren’t impacted by also having a 5K display connected to the Thunderbolt 3 port, as there is enough bandwidth over Thunderbolt 3 to support both without compromise.

SD Card Reader

An SD card slot is another one of those features that a lot of people like to see on these docks, eliminating the need for a separate reader to plug into one of the dock’s USB ports. For a long time, OWC was about the only major company to offer an SD card reader on a Thunderbolt 3 dock, but Promise Technology joined the club a few months ago with its TD-300 that I just reviewed last week.

CalDigit is now joining the club by offering an SD card reader in the TS3 Plus, and it even supports the SD 4.0 spec over a UHS-II bus interface for the faster speeds with compatible SD cards. Theoretical transfer speeds of 312 MB/s are three times that of the UHS-I bus with SD 3.0 used on other docks. The reader supports standard SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards.

Displays

As with other docks of this type, the TS3 Plus includes a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports, one for connecting to the host computer and one for connecting other peripherals such as a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C display. The dock can support a single 5K external display at 60 Hz over Thunderbolt 3, or a pair of 4K displays using the Thunderbolt 3 port and the DisplayPort 1.2 port. Various adapters sold separately allow the Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort connectors to be used with various types of displays including HDMI and DVI.

The TS3 Plus and other CalDigit Thunderbolt 3 docks support a variety of combinations of displays up to 4K from the two ports, and I experienced no issues testing with several LG 4K displays. A single LG UltraFine 5K display connected via Thunderbolt 3 also worked fine, maintaining a 60 Hz refresh rate.

It’s worth noting that the two USB-C ports on the TS3 Plus, including the 10 Gbps one on the rear, are data-only, so they can not be used for connecting additional USB-C displays.

Charging

While many other Thunderbolt 3 docks offer up to 60 watts of upstream charging for a host computer, the TS3 Plus offers a full 85 watts of charging power to support even the 15-inch MacBook Pro. If you’re running your 15-inch MacBook Pro under very heavy loads or you want to ensure the fastest recharge of a depleted battery, 85-watt support is a feature you definitely want to look for in a dock. Unlike some other docks, the TS3 Plus can also support charging of PCs over Thunderbolt 3.

The higher 85-watt charging power of the TS3 Plus drives up the size of the external brick, which is quite large, but many users will have the ability to hide it away behind other items on their desks or even off their desks entirely.

Nearly all of the USB ports also support pass-through charging, allowing connected devices like iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches to charge even when the dock doesn’t have an active connection to a host computer.

The TS3 Plus will also support CalDigit’s downloadable drivers and software utility to boost USB power output to 1 A for slightly faster iOS device charging and to support Apple’s external USB SuperDrive. The software utility is a menu bar item that makes it easy to eject all peripherals connected to the dock with a single click.

Wrap-up

Of all the Thunderbolt 3 docks I’ve tested so far, CalDigit’s TS3 Plus is my new favorite. It has all of the features I’m looking for in a dock, including a plethora of USB ports with both Type-A and Type-C options and even a 10 Gbps Type-C port. It also has an SD card reader, 85-watt charging, and a compact footprint in either vertical or horizontal orientation. And to top it all off, it’s currently priced at just $250 during pre-orders, below the $300–$350 pricing seen on most other feature-rich docks. Pricing for the TS3 Plus will rise to $350 once the pre-order promotion ends.

The TS3 Plus does away with the pair of eSATA ports found on the original TS3, but with eSATA usage dwindling, I find it a very worthwhile tradeoff to instead make room for many more USB ports, optical audio, and an SD card reader.

The TS3 Plus begins shipping on February 20, but CalDigit will be offering pre-orders through its own site with a temporary $100 discount off the regular price. For pre-orders, the TS3 Plus with 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable is priced at $249.99, while versions with 1-meter ($269.99) and 2-meter ($279.99) cables will also be available.

It’s important to note, however, that these longer lengths require active cabling in order to maintain the full 40 Gbps bandwidth and 100-watt charging maximum of Thunderbolt 3, but that also prevents compatibility with USB 3.1 and USB 3.0 standards. As a result, it’s best to stick with the 0.5-meter cable that has full backwards compatibility if you can, even if it means rearranging your desk to get the dock close enough to your computer.

B&H Photo will be CalDigit’s exclusive retail launch partner for the TS3 Plus, but won’t be offering the pre-order discount.

In addition to the new TS3 Plus temporarily starting at $249.99, CalDigit is also dropping the price of its TS3 to $199.99, down from $299.99. CalDigit claims this makes the TS3 the first Thunderbolt 3 dock with 85-watt charging priced under $200, so be sure to check out our earlier review of the regular TS3.

Note: CalDigit provided the TS3 Plus to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

Tags: Thunderbolt 3, CalDigit
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Verizon follows AT&T in dropping Huawei smartphones

Verizon is the latest carrier to drop its plans to sell phones from Chinese handset maker Huawei, according to sources cited in Bloomberg. The move follows a similar decision from AT&T earlier this month, supposedly prompted by pressure from the US government over security concerns. The government is also pressing Verizon to end any collaboration with Huawei on standards for a 5G network.

“The next wave of wireless communication has enormous economic and national security implications,” said Michael Wessel of a US-China security review commission. “China’s participation in setting the standards and selling the equipment raises many national security issues that demand strict and prompt attention.”

The government’s concerns over Chinese spying has created a significant obstacle in US carriers’ bid to offer 5G. Huawei wants to be the first to bring a 5G-capable phone to market, but it seems likely that carriers such as AT&T and Verizon — which plan to roll out a supporting 5G network this year — won’t have access to it. The perceived security risk of China’s involvement even prompted the Trump administration to consider nationalizing the creation of a 5G system, but the idea was swiftly shot down by leaders and lawmakers on Monday.

Source: Bloomberg