Apple showed off new software, including improvements to iMessage and its voice-activated assistant Siri, to help fend off competition from technology giants who are encroaching on the iPhone maker’s services businesses.
Expanding Siri’s reach may keep products from Amazon.com and Alphabet’s Google at bay, more fun emojis and integrated applications for messaging could hold off challenges from Facebook and Tencent Holdings, and expanding Apple Pay to online shopping pushes back at PayPal Holdings. A revamped Apple Music streaming service is aimed at winning customers of Spotify AB.
Apple executives introduced the new products Monday at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The annual event has taken on greater importance as Apple seeks to offset a slowdown in iPhone sales by increasing its software income. The company gets a cut of every sale made via its App Store and to keep developers building the apps, chief rxecutive Tim Cook anchored a presentation showing they’ll now be able to integrate a bevy of Apple services into their programmes.
The new operating systems for Mac computers, Apple Watch, Apple TV and iPhones “become even more capable when working with all of you,” Cook told about 5,000 developers gathered in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
“The event was largely incremental and a warm up for new products in the fall,” Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, wrote in a note to investors. “The updates keep Apple’s hardware and software ahead of competition from Android, Amazon and Windows.”
The opening of Siri to third-party developers may ultimately allow users to order pizzas or taxis with voice commands. That regains ground on Amazon and Google, which have released virtual assistants since Apple introduced Siri in 2011. Apple also added its voice-activated assistant to its desktop and laptop computers.
Virtual assistants are playing an increasingly key role in managing the way consumers operate their digital lives: interacting with social media, arranging calendars, ordering shopping and running homes with web-connected appliances. Technology companies are investing in their virtual assistants as they compete to become the gatekeeper for those products.
Messaging Features
Apple’s changes to its iMessage system drew the biggest reaction at the conference. Developers will be able to incorporate apps into iMessage so users can do more tasks like make payments or order take-out food. And Apple introduced consumer-friendly features like bigger emojis, quick-reply options such as a thumbs-up and special animations like pulsing lights or floating balloons - all similar to those available on SnapChat or Facebook Messenger.
Apple is following the lead of Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who sees messaging applications as the tools people will use to do everything from chatting with customer service representatives and getting sports updates to booking taxis or paying restaurant bills. This model has been popular for years in China, where Tencent’s WeChat app is used by millions of consumers for banking, buying and keeping tabs on celebrity updates. Facebook’s WhatsApp, with about 1 billion users, and Messenger, with about 900 million, both consistently rank among the top downloads on Apple’s App Store.
Apple Pay
Starting in the fall, consumers using Apple’s Safari browser on their Mac computers, iPhones or iPads can buy items online with Apple Pay by swiping their finger across an iPhone sensor, as they do when shopping in physical stores. Authentication can also be done using an Apple Watch.
“Apple Pay in browser limited to Safari is going to be a tough one to swallow for many,” said Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, wrote on Twitter.
Still, the move online is a blow to companies like PayPal, which offers shoppers one-click payment, said Roger Entner, an analyst with Recon Analytics. PayPal also lets users of certain devices log into their accounts with a fingerprint reader.
“For PayPal, it’s pretty much a direct attack on their core business,” Entner said in an interview. “If Apple figures out a more convenient way of going through the authentication process, customers that have Apple Pay may pick that and not use PayPal.”
Music Streaming
Apple introduced a revamped version of its music streaming service aimed at making it easier to use. Since it was unveiled at last year’s developer conference, Apple Music has been plagued by slow adoption rates, lukewarm critical reception and executive departures.
Among the changes are altered tabs along the bottom of the app to improve navigation, a tab to publicise new music releases and a browsing function that will show fewer album covers and songs than the first version of the service.
A consumer shift toward music streaming from Spotify and Pandora poses a threat to Apple’s $3.5 billion iTunes song-download business. Apple said Monday that its music-streaming service has more than 15 million paid subscribers, up from 13 million at the end of March. That compares with Spotify’s 30 million paying customers and Pandora’s 3.9 million subscribers at the end of 2015.
Apple TV
The new version of the tvOS system will enable you to sign in once to access multiple apps from various TV network providers. It’s also adding services like Dish’s Sling TV and Fox Sports Go.
There’s also better integration with the Siri voice assistant. You can launch live TV viewing with voice command and search YouTube and the iTunes store for videos using Siri.
The company also enabled Apple TV to interact with photos stored in Apple’s online locker, iCloud, and interact with smart home devices such as thermostats that use the company’s HomeKit platform.
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Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
The%C2%A0specs%20
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AIR
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.