Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Apple Agrees Deal With France to Pay Back-Taxes

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Apple has reached a deal with France to pay an undeclared amount of back-dated tax, according to multiple reports today.


Apple's French division confirmed the tax payment agreement to Reuters, but didn't disclose how much it had agreed to pay, although French media have suggest the sum is around 500 million euros ($571 million).
"As a multinational company, Apple is regularly audited by fiscal authorities around the world," Apple France said in a statement. "The French tax administration recently concluded a multi-year audit on the company's French accounts, and those details will be published in our public accounts."
France has been working diligently to stop tech companies like Apple from exploiting tax loopholes in the country. The loopholes are said to have allowed Apple to "minimize taxes and grab market share" at the expense of Europe-based companies.

French President Emmanuel Macron is one of the leaders behind the tax crackdown on international tech companies, with a goal of bringing a more unified corporate tax system across the nineteen euro area states.

Apple has had trouble with tax activist groups accusing the company of wide-scale tax evasion and occupying its Parisian retail stores. In February 2018, Apple sued the activist group "Attac" for its protests in stores, but the High Court of Paris denied Apple's request for an injunction that would have blocked the group from protesting.

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.

Tags: France, tax

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Apple Supplier of iPhone 3D Optical Sensors Warns of Weak First Quarter Revenue, Skips Dividend

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The Austrian firm that supplies Apple with optical sensors for 3D facial recognition features in iPhones expects revenue to fall in the first quarter of 2019 (via Reuters).


Sensor specialist AMS said its adjusted operating profit fell more than half in the fourth quarter of 2018 and it would not pay out a dividend because of slow demand from a "major customer" and restructuring costs.

AMS generated adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $61.9 million and revenue of $491 million in the three month through December. The company said it expects revenue to fall in Q1 2019 to $350-390 million, amid continued weak smartphone demand and a seasonal first-quarter dip in the consumer market.

AMS provides Apple with the optical sensors in its TrueDepth camera system featured in the iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, and 2018 iPad Pro. The Austrian group is said to generate around 45 percent of sales from Apple. Low demand for Apple's newest iPhones in China has reportedly put added pressure on AMS.

As early as November last year, reports began emerging that Apple had slashed production orders for its latest iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR models due to lower-than-expected demand, among other reasons.

While multiple reports have suggested the iPhone XR sold well over the holiday period, it did not sell as well as Apple had expected, at least in some areas around the world.

Apple lowered its earnings guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2019 due to weak iPhone sales and has reportedly cut iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max production for the January to March quarter.


This article, "Apple Supplier of iPhone 3D Optical Sensors Warns of Weak First Quarter Revenue, Skips Dividend" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Galaxy M20, M10 Sold Out on Amazon and Samsung India Store, Next Sale Date Announced


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[Exclusive] Samsung Galaxy A10, Galaxy A20, and Galaxy A30 Smartphones to Launch in India Soon


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Monday, February 4, 2019

Vivo V15 Pro With Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC and 6GB RAM Surfaces on Geekbench


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2018 MacBook Air's FaceTime HD Camera Quality Issue

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After the 2018 MacBook Air launched, complaints began surfacing about the machine's 720p FaceTime HD camera, with users suggesting it was noticeably worse than the FaceTime cameras on other MacBook machines, including the 2018 MacBook Pro and the previous-generation MacBook Air.

All 720p cameras are rather poor in quality compared to the FaceTime cameras that we get in iPhones and iPads, so we initially believed these complaints were coming from people who just expected more from a 2018 machine.


Given the sheer volume of complaints, though, MacRumors decided to do some investigating and found that the 720p FaceTime HD camera in the 2018 MacBook Air does indeed appear to be worse than the FaceTime HD camera in some other models, specifically the 2015 MacBook Air.

2018 MacBook Air vs. older MacBook Air


Compared to the 2015 MacBook Air, the FaceTime HD camera in the 2018 MacBook Air is noticeably worse. It's darker, grainier, and lower in quality. To be clear, neither camera is good because we're talking about 720p video here, but there is a visible difference in side by side photos.

2018 MacBook Air on left, 2015 MacBook Air on right




2018 MacBook Air vs. 2018 MacBook Pro


The 2018 MacBook Air's FaceTime HD camera is actually pretty similar to the FaceTime HD camera in the 2018 MacBook Pro. There's little difference that we saw in comparison images, suggesting that the two machines are using similar cameras, neither of which is particularly good.


720p camera quality


The FaceTime HD camera that Apple is using in the 2018 MacBook Air is far worse than the cameras on modern iPhones and iPads, and quality hasn't been bumped up for years, which is the real problem.

FaceTime streaming is limited to 720p, but we do use our front-facing cameras for other purposes, and the poor quality of the cameras Apple uses in its notebooks is a stark contrast to the sharp 7-megapixel front-facing camera in the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, XR, XS, and XS Max.

Even bumping that camera up to 1080p would make a world of difference when it comes to quality, as evidenced in photos captured using the 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the iMac Pro.


The 720p camera in the 2018 MacBook Air does suck, but so do the FaceTime HD cameras Apple uses across the Mac notebook lineup.

Which models are affected?


All MacBook Air models appear to have the same FaceTime HD camera and thus all models are impacted. The quality of the camera is less bothersome to some users than others, but there have been a large volume of complaints.

What does Apple have to say about the issue?


Nothing. Apple hasn't yet commented on the complaints over the 2018 MacBook Air's camera.

What can I do if I'm unsatisfied with my camera?


If you're unhappy with the FaceTime HD camera in the 2018 MacBook Air, the only recourse seems to be to return it. There's nothing that can be done to improve the camera at this point in time, though buying an external webcam is also a possible solution.

There is a possibility that there's a software issue that could be fixed via an over-the-air update, based on the testing of some users who have claimed to see better quality video in some apps compared to others, but the results have been inconsistent and it's unclear if hardware or software is to blame.

Is it still worth buying a 2018 MacBook Air?


If you're buying a notebook for its front-facing camera, the 2018 MacBook Air isn't a great choice, nor is any other Mac. The same is true if the front-facing camera is an important feature to you.

If you just use FaceTime occasionally, have other devices to fall back on, and don't need to rely on the front-facing camera, the MacBook Air is a capable machine with a Retina display, T2 chip, Touch ID, support for up to 16GB RAM, a third-generation butterfly keyboard, a Force Touch trackpad, and Thunderbolt 3 support.


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Samsung Galaxy M20, M10, Realme C1 (2019) First Sale to be Held Today in India: Price, Offers


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