Apple Takes 104% of All Smartphone Profits Following Galaxy Note 7 Recall

Apple accounted for over 100 percent of smartphone industry profits in the third quarter of this year, according to estimates published by BMO Capital Markets on Thursday.

Analyst Tim Long, quoted in the Investor’s Business Daily, said Apple’s staggering 103.6 percent profit share in Q3 2016 came largely as a result of significant losses posted by rival vendors including LG and HTC, and despite Apple continuing to shift fewer handsets year on year.

Based on units alone, Samsung accounted for 21.7 percent of all smartphones sold, with Apple coming in second with a 13.2 percent share. In terms of profits however, Samsung came a distant second to Apple, capturing only a 0.9 percent share.

Samsung ceded market share in smartphone shipments to Apple and Chinese vendors in the third quarter because of its Galaxy Note 7 troubles, Long said. He expects further share loss by Samsung in the current quarter. Apple captured over 100% of smartphone industry profits for the first time, thanks in part to Samsung’s weaker results, Long said.

If accurate, the estimates represent the first time Apple has achieved smartphone industry profits of over 100 percent – an impressive number for a company owning only around 12 percent of the market.

According to the same report, Apple managed 90 percent profit share in the same quarter a year ago. However, this year Apple’s iPhone 7 numbers were undoubtedly helped by Samsung’s hugely damaging Galaxy Note 7 recall and discontinuation, which effectively took the South Korean company out of this year’s flagship smartphone race, indicating Apple’s profit share is unlikely to be sustained in the long term.

Despite the impressive numbers, Apple’s recent third quarter financial results reported its first full-year revenue decline for Apple since 2001, although Apple expects to return to revenue growth in the holiday season on the back of sales of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Apple’s Irish Data Center Facing New Legal Challenges as Locals Plan March in Support

It’s been three months since Apple finally gained approval to build its massive data center just outside of Athenry in Galway County, Ireland, and now “a small handful of locals” have been reported as working to derail Apple’s data center project since the company got approval in August. The residents have filed complaints with Galway County Council, local planning body An Bord Pleanála, and most recently have taken it to High Court (via Business Insider).

Apple is now trying to get the High Court to fast track the case brought upon by the three individuals in Athenry, mainly by putting the dispute on a “commercial list,” a dedicated section of the court which deals with cases that have more than €1 million at stake. For the data center in Ireland alone (one of similar scale is going up in Denmark), Apple plans to spend €850 million.

Not all of the locals are against Apple’s attempts to build in the area, however, and are planning a march in support this weekend “to show Apple, and the whole world, that the vast majority of Athenry people support wholeheartedly Apple’s desire to open a data centre near our town.” In the Apple for Athenry March Facebook event, the supportive residents of the town mention a fear that if negative opinions continue to mount against Apple’s appearance in the area, the opportunity for community growth could “slip through our fingers.”

“We want to show Apple, and the whole world, that the vast majority of Athenry people support wholeheartedly Apple’s desire to open a data centre near our town

PLEASE ATTEND THIS EVENT, AND MAKE EVERYONE YOU KNOW AWARE OF IT.

This is a marvellous opportunity for Athenry, and the West Of Ireland. Please do not let this opportunity slip through our fingers.

PLEASE DO NOT UPSET THE APPLECART”

The next step for Apple will be on November 7 — the day after the organized support march this Sunday — where the High Court will consider Apple’s motion and either agree to the fast track plan and see the issue settled within the next few months, or prolongate the company’s attempted construction even more. Original objections to the site referenced wildlife issues, local golf course flooding, and the center’s proximity to nearby nuclear power plants.

Once it would start building the data center, Apple has laid out a 10-15 year construction plan for continued expansion and growth of the location, which is intended to power services like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud.

Tag: data center
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Samsung’s W2017 is a high-end flip phone with Snapdragon 820 and 4GB RAM

There is a market for flip phones — particularly in Asian countries — which is why companies like Samsung and LG continue to make them. After rolling out the high-end W2016 in China at the end of last year, Samsung is now looking to unveil the W2017 in the country, a flip phone powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820.

The clamshell has a pair of 4.2-inch Full HD displays (one on the outside and one on the inside), 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, microSD slot, 12MP camera with 4K video recording, 5MP front shooter, dual-SIM with LTE, NFC, wireless charging, fingerprint sensor, and a 2300mAh battery.

No mention of an official price, but SamMobile notes that the W2017 could end up costing an astounding ¥20,000 ($2,960). That’s twice as costly as last year’s W2016, which debuted for ¥9,999 ($1,480). Given that the W2016 hasn’t made its way to other markets, it is likely that its successor will be limited to China as well.

Adidas made an ocean plastic shoe you can actually buy

Late last year, Adidas teamed up with Parley, an organization raising awareness against ocean pollution, on a partially 3D-printed shoe made out of up-cycled marine plastic. Then, in 2016, the two firms took that partnership one step further with the limited-edition Adidas x Parley, a running sneaker that also featured materials created from ocean waste. Ultimately, both of these concepts paved the way for what the sportswear giant is announcing today, the UltraBoost Uncaged Parley.

Unlike the Adidas x Parley silhouette, where 100 pairs were given away through an Instagram contest, this one you will actually have a chance to buy for $200 in mid-November. All told, Adidas is making 7,000 pairs of the UltraBoost Uncaged Parley, and the company says it plans to produce at least 1 million pairs using ocean plastic by the end of 2017. It’s yet another sign of Adidas’ willingness to experiment across the board, especially with sustainability innovations and emerging technologies like 3D printing.

This particular model is based on the UltraBoost Uncaged design, one of the brand’s most popular running-meets-lifestyle shoes. The main difference here, however, is that the Parley version features a soft Primeknit upper built with 95 percent ocean plastic. Other parts, such the as shoe laces, heel cap, heel webbing and sock-liner, were also made from materials retrieved by Parley during coastal operations in the Maldives, according to Adidas.

Meanwhile, the midsole is all Adidas’ Boost technology. That’s the same foamy material found on its Yeezys, NMD and UltraBoost, the flagship running sneaker. The company says it had to develop the Uncaged Parley without compromising on performance, adding that the key was to keep every signature element of a running shoe. In other words, if you happen to get lucky with a pair, wear it like you would any other. Don’t let those yarn fibers stop you.

The new Adidas x Parley jerseys for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Now, the Uncaged Parley isn’t the only product stemming from the Adidas-Parley collaboration. Soccer clubs Bayern Munich (Germany) and Real Madrid (Spain) will debut environmental jerseys on November 5th and 26th, respectively. They’re water-based prints and, similar to the UltraBoost Uncaged Parley, made from recycled ocean plastic. Adidas didn’t say how limited these are expected to be, but the price for them is $100 each and they’ll be available on November 4th (Bayern Munich) and the 24th (Real Madrid).

Those of you who purchase one will find an Adidas x Parley label with an NFC chip embedded, which will give you more information about the joint venture. Interestingly, team logos won’t be visible on the shirts, a decision made by both clubs and sponsors to fall in line with Parley’s commitment to the oceans and sustainability.

Eric Liedtke, executive board Member of Adidas Group, tells Engadget the mission goes beyond what Adidas and Parley can do. Instead, it’s an invitation to the entire fashion industry to join the sustainability movement. “We’re inviting or challenging other people to get at the world’s problems,” he says. “We [Adidas and Parley] can’t solve it alone.” While Liedtke says Adidas won’t be working with Nike anytime soon, if ever, Parley would definitely be open to it. And he’s allowed to say that, since he’s on Parley’s Oceans Steering Committee.

Eric Liedtke with Kanye West.

“The industry should turn from being the problem to being the solution,” says Parley Founder Cyrill Gutsch. “We have to invent our way out of this situation, reinvent materials and the business.” Gutsch, who I spoke to after he and Adidas enlisted 19 countries from the United Nations to help them combat ocean pollution, says we as a society have to understand how good at killing we are. He says it starts with finding alternatives to plastic, as well as other toxic materials, and making them usable in products we use every day.

If anything, the up-cycled shoes and football jerseys prove you can have well-designed products that are also environmentally conscious. I had the chance to try on the UltraBoost Uncaged Parleys and, not surprisingly, they felt just as comfortable as the regular pair I own. They also happened to smell like the ocean, but maybe that was my brain playing tricks on me.

Ultimately, Gutsch says the industry needs to act fast before it’s too late. “There’s no Batman or superman coming along,” he says. “If we don’t fix this now, we’re fucked.”

BMW sold 100,000 EVs in 3 years, now turns attention to autonomy

EVs have come a long way in just a few years. Just look at the waves Tesla has made since introducing the Model S in 2012. Nissan just sold its 100,000th Leaf in the US. BMW, too, would have you know that it has been pulling its weight in this grand acceleration of EVs. In fact, the German automaker has also recently hit a major milestone since it first launched battery-powered cars under its i sub-brand. BMW has announced that it has achieved 100,000 plug-in vehicle sales worldwide.

Beginning with the battery electric i3 in November of 2013, BMW went to work building upon the knowledge and experience gained from its field tests with the ActiveE. In the three years since then, BMW has sold over 60,000 examples of the i3. The German automaker points out that those sales figures make the i3 “the most successful electric vehicle in the premium compact segment.” It’s not a very crowded segment, but BMW filled a hole and did it well, so we’ll give them that one. Say it proudly, BMW. And, impressively, the automaker reports that 80 percent of i3 buyers are new to BMW, which means first-time owners and those ever-important conquest sales.

Next came the ultra-desirable i8 plug-in hybrid. The production car looked a lot like the eye-popping concept, which the public appreciated. Demand initially outstripped production, and the car will probably continue to turn heads for some time to come, particularly when the i8 Roadster allows owners to be seen more easily. BMW says it has sold some 10,000 examples of the i8 since its launch in mid-2014.

Additionally, BMW has sold about 30,000 plug-in hybrid versions of its other core products, which now fall under the iPerformance label. Just as EV sales are expected to grow in general, we can expect to BMW’s plug-in sales to gather momentum in the coming years, especially as it increases the number of offerings.

“BMW i remains our spearhead in terms of innovation and it will continue to open up groundbreaking technologies for the BMW Group,” says BMW Chairman of the Board of Management Harald Krüger. “When it comes to electric drivetrains, we’ve already successfully managed to put this technology transfer on the road. The next technological advance we will address is automated driving, where the BMW iNEXT will set a new benchmark.”

Following a Mini Countryman PHEV and the i8 Roadster in 2018, and an all-electric Mini in 2019, BMW has confirmed it will introduce the all-electric X3 in 2020, with another EV due in 2021. We can’t wait to see what’s (i)Next.

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Source: BMW

Psychologists figure out the science behind earworms

There’s a scientific reason why you can’t get that one song out of your head, and a team from the American Psychological Association conducted a large scale study to get to the bottom of it. They compared earworms to other songs that became popular at the same time even though they weren’t exactly considered catchy and found out what makes them so sticky. The study’s lead author, Kelly Jakubowski, said those songs share a few common characteristics: they typically have “fast tempo along with a common melodic shape and unusual intervals or repetitions.”

Some of them, for instance, follow a pattern of rising and falling in pitch over and over again, like the opening of Moves Like Jagger. Others repeat more notes than most pop songs, along with unexpected intervals like the chorus of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. In fact, Bad Romance was the most frequently named earworm by the subjects in the study, followed by Kylie Minogue’s aptly titled hit Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.

The team says their study does more than just understand what songs have a bigger chance of making it to the top of the charts. By looking into earworms, they’re also understanding how brain networks involved in emotions, memory and spontaneous thoughts behave in different people. They also came up with a few suggestions on how to stop a song from playing on a loop inside your head. You can distract yourself, let it fade naturally on its own… or listen to it in full so you can finally move on.

Source: American Psychological Association

Kickstarter’s first sex toy has arrived

Crowdfunded sex toys aren’t new to the scene, but until now, the most well-known crowdfunding site has steered clear of the category. Now, Kickstarter is hosting a campaign for Dame Products’ Fin vibrator. Cofounder Alexandra Fine tells Motherboard that proximity helped it break in, since “Kickstarter is literally around the block from us.” The company is familiar with the process, after launching its Eva vibrator for couples with an $835k campaign on Indiegogo.

Fine and her fellow cofounder Janet Lieberman created the Fin to help “close the pleasure gap” for women by enhancing natural touching. The USB-rechargeable device has a three-speed motor inside and is made of medical-grade silicone. Designed to be “small, simple and powerful,” it can be held between one’s fingers in multiple positions (tips of the fingers, along the palm, back of the fingers).

In contrast to their previous Eva product, Fin’s “hands-on” nature is intended to bring partners closer together, while addressing many women’s need for clitoral stimulation to reach orgasm.

Delivery is estimated to begin in December, and preordering via Kickstarter is available for $60, a discount from the planned $75 retail price.

Via: Motherboard

Source: Fin (Kickstarter), Dame Products