Tag Archives: Apple

Business, News

More COVID-19 Casualties: Apple’s Q2 Earnings Taking a Punch

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The development on the Novel Coronavirus of 2019, now more commonly known as COVID-19, is on every headline for the past month or so. If you have not heard, the Mobile World Congress 2020 (MWC2020) that is supposed to open its doors soon was shut down due to the large health concerns. They are not alone though. The F1 GP to be held in China in about two months time has been cancelled via the request of the local organisers. If you missed our news, Acer’s Predator League 2020 set to happen at the end of this month is also cancelled due to health concerns.

All these are quite expected, to be fair. What is even worse is that plenty of factories in China had to close down or stop operating for the time being thanks to the vicious spread of the virus. One of those affected manufacturing plants are Apple’s contractor, Foxconn. That also means there is currently a global shortage of Apple iPhones. Of course, that is going to hit the market and Apple’s earnings a little bit.

For good measure, for their investors anyway, Apple just predicted that their Q2 revenue will be lower than the expected US$ 63 to 67 billion. If you are thinking that it cannot be that much lower for Apple to make an announcement like this, it looks quite bad from Apple’s side. Their prediction also says that they will not even make the lowest mark of the revenue estimates for Q2 of 2020.

At this time Apple is predicting up to a 36% difference between the expected shipment for Q2 2020 and the actual shipment number. Optimistically they are expecting a 29% difference. Still, that big of a difference in shipments is going to be quite a big hit to their revenue numbers.

Apple did not mention how big of an impact the plunge in shipment will make though. At this time we cannot comment too much into their reduced shipments or even predict how much they will lose in revenue for Q2 2020. To be fair, even our attention is mostly fixed on the development on COVID-19.

Sources: 9to5 Mac, Mac Rumors, Mashable

Accessories

Belkin Wants A Bite of Your Apple Devices with New Accessories

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Belkin has become a well-known brand when it comes to accessories and peripherals for any device. The company has released some of the most well designed accessories for iPhones, Android devices and laptops. Recently, the company merged with Foxconn to form the Connected Devices division under a new entity called Foxconn Interconnect Technology.

You know the saying, “new year, new me”? Well, Belkin is taking that to heart by not only announcing its new identity but also by introducing a slew of accessories for Apple users. The new devices are a continuation of the partnership between Apple and Belkin which started since the early 2000s.

In a nutshell, Belkin is kicking off the year with a slew of products to make sure that Apple users are charged up. To kick things off, the company is introducing a wireless charging dock which is made for both the iPhone and the Apple Watch. Of course, since the dock charges wirelessly, it works with the iPhone X, Xs and the new iPhone 11. The dock also allows you to take advantage of the Nightstand mode in the Apple Watch so you’ll be able to use the alarm clock feature too. If you need an extra charger, the dock has a 5-watt USB A port which you can charge an extra device or powerbank through. The BOOST↑UP™ Wireless Charging Dock for iPhone and Apple Watch is available now for MYR799.

If that’s a little too pricey, the BOOST↑UP™ Wireless Charging Pad & Stand 10W will only set you back MYR339. The wireless charger doesn’t support the Apple Watch; but it does deliver 10W fast wireless charging. It’s engineered to work with cases up to 3mm thick. If you want your phone to be upright while using the wireless charger, there is a stand to allow you to prop it up. The standing pad retails for MYR389.

Looking to charge your iPhone and listen to tunes at the same time? Don’t have a set of AirPods? No 3.5mm port? Belkin’s ROCKSTAR Lightning Headphones & Audio Charge dock is here to meet your needs. The dock extends the USB connectivity of the iPhone to enable dual USB-C-Lightning plugin. The dock extends the lightning port of the iPhone to allow users to plug their Lightning connector earphones while charging through USB-C. The dock is able to convey audio at 48KHz at 24-bit quality while supporting 12W charging. The dock will cost MYR225. If you’re looking for earphones, Belkin has Lightning connector earphones from MYR199.

If you’re constantly on the go, you’ll need to be able to charge your devices without hassle. Belkin has a charger which you can carry anywhere. The BOOST↑CHARGE™ 27W USB-C™+12W USB-A Home Charger will only set you back MYR259 but it will allow you to charge your devices via USB-C. This also means that you’ll be able to charge your MacBook (probably slower than its original charger which is 30W). That said, it will also be able to fast charge your iPhone and AirPods. It is able to charge via a 12W USB-A port as well. If you need something similar for your car, the Belkin BOOST↑CHARGE™ USB-C + USB-A Car Charger 30W will only set you back MYR139.

Being on the go also means that you’ll need a way to charge your devices if they run out when you are out and about. Belkin’s BOOST↑CHARGE™ Power Bank 2K for Apple Watch will ensure that your smartwatch stays powered. The powerbank provides an additional 63 hours of battery life. For your iPhone, you can get the BOOST↑CHARGE™ Power Bank 10K with Lightning Connector. The MYR339 powerbank allows you to charge your phone through a lightning cable in addition to 2 USB A cables.

Which of these are you more likely to buy? Let us know in the comments below!

Android, Mobile, News

Android AirDrop? Yes Please.

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When you own a device from the fruity manufacturers from Cupertino, you do not get the privilege of transferring files between devices other than using AirDrop. Technically, AirDrop is a combination of using Bluetooth and WiFi Direct to drag and drop files between Apple devices. While Android devices can plainly use Bluetooth to share files, WiFi Direct between devices have been a little finicky from one Android device to another. So we are stuck to using slow Bluetooth file transfers if you use an Android device from Xiaomi and I am using one from Samsung.

Of course WiFi Direct is an option, but only if you use certain smartphones that are from the same manufacturer. This may no longer be the case though. Fast file transfers between Android devices could be made possible with the “Peer-to-Peer Transmission Alliance”. The Alliance is made to allow high-speed file transfer and sharing between devices. In that case, you get AirDrop like performance from Android devices; 20MB/S over-the-air file transfer speeds.

The only issue is that the Alliance currently consists of three manufacturers. The three manufacturers are OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Not even HUAWEI is part of that alliance, which also means that you only get fast file transfers between these three manufacturers until anyone else joins the Alliance. Still, nothing wrong with being hopeful.

Source: Android Central, Mi Blog