Charlotte Henry's photo

Charlotte Henry

Charlotte is a media junkie, covering how Apple is not just a revolutionary tech firm, but a revolutionary media firm for TMO. She is based in London, and writes and broadcasts for various outlets.

Get In Touch:

Articles by Charlotte Henry

Link

Twitter's Jack Dorsey Sells First Tweet as an NFT For U.S.$2.9 Million

Charlotte Henry ·

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey has sold his first tweet. He did so as an NFT, with the asset earning around U.S.$2.9 million, Reuters reported.

The tweet – “just setting up my twttr” – was Dorsey’s first tweet, made on March 21, 2006. The NFT was sold via auction on a platform called Valuables, which is owned by the U.S.-based company Cent. It was bought using the cryptocurrency Ether, for 1630.5825601 ETH, which was worth $2,915,835.47 at the time of sale, Cameron Hejazi, the CEO and co-founder of Cent confirmed. Cent confirmed the buyer is Sina Estavi. Estavi’s Twitter profile, @sinaEstavi, says he is based in Malaysia and is CEO of the blockchain company Bridge Oracle. Estavi told Reuters he was “thankful” when asked for comment about the purchase.

Link

Apple's Augmented Reality Headset Could Use Eye Tracking Hardware

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple’s long-rumored augmented reality headset could contain eye tracking hardware for user input according. This could mean handheld controllers are not necessary, according to AppleInsider, which reported on a note by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo in a note to investors on Friday said the headset will use a specialized transmitter and receiver to detect eye movements, blinks and related physical information. The analyst believes eye tracking will soon be the most important human-machine interface technology for AR and VR wearables. “Currently, users primarily operate the HMD (most of which are VR devices) using handheld controllers,” Kuo writes. “The biggest challenge with this type of operation is that it does not provide a smooth user experience. We believe that if the HMD uses an eye-tracking system, there will be several advantages.”

Link

Personalized Artwork on Apple Music Personal Radio Stations no Longer Available

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Music appears to have removed the personalized artwork for its personal radio station feature. Reddit users spotted the change, which was reported by MacRumors.

‌Apple Music‌ previously generated a custom personal radio station graphic based on a user’s ‌Apple Music‌ profile picture, but Apple now appears to have removed this feature, replacing all personal radio station artwork with an identical red graphic. The change may be in line with a number of amendments to ‌Apple Music‌’s artwork that have taken place over the last year, such as animated album covers. The change, first spotted by users on Reddit, appears to have taken place very recently. Some users seem to be unhappy about the change, commenting that the “profile picture variant made it feel more personal than this.”

Link

Google’s Privacy Moves to Face U.S. Antitrust Scrutiny

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple has been the subject of a plethora of antitrust investigations in recent times. According to Reuters, recent privacy changes from Google, which would see its Chrome browsers ban some cookies, have caught the attention of the U.S. Justice Department too.

Investigators are asking whether Google is using Chrome, which has 60% global market share, to reduce competition by preventing rival ad companies from tracking users through cookies while leaving loopholes for it to gather data with cookies, analytics tools and other sources, the sources added. The latest conversations, which have not been previously reported, are a sign that officials are tracking Google’s projects in the global online ad market where it and No. 2 Facebook Inc control about 54% of revenue.

Link

Why Does Apple Keep Making Pricey Niche Products Like The HomePod?

Charlotte Henry ·

We recently learned that that the HomePod is to be discontinued, with Apple turning its focus to the mini instead. Luke Dormehl at Cult of Mac made a compelling argument for why it demonstrates that the company should stop producing pricey, niche, products.

You can read the HomePod debacle as an admission of failure regarding Apple’s framing of the device as a smart speaker rather than high-end audio gear. But it’s more than that. It’s an illustration of Apple’s faltering strategy of creating premium products for niche corners of the market… What else that Apple currently manufactures falls into this same category of being far more expensive than its competition? If I was toiling away on the AirPods Max, I’d probably be nervous. Apple’s pricey over-the-ear headphones, which debuted at the end of last year, sell for $550. Again, Apple hasn’t broken out sales figures, but suppliers working on the AirPods Max reportedly view it as a niche product.

Link

Tim Cook to Appear at China Development Forum 2021

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple CEO is set to appear at the 2021 China Development Forum, Global Times reported. Other top tech execs such as Tesla’s Elon Musk and Cisco’s Chuck Robbins will also attend.

Oliver Zipse, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG, will co-chair this year’s CDF, a gathering of executives of 100-plus foreign firms including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, HSBC Chief Executive Noel Quinn, Chuck Robbins, chairman and CEO of Cisco, Ray Dalio, founder and chairman of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates and Jakob Stausholm, CEO of Rio Tinto Group, according to a posting on the CDF’s official WeChat account on Monday.The event, held annually since 2000, will offer both in-person and online components at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing from Saturday through Monday under the theme of “China on a New Journey Toward Modernization.”

Link

Huawei Wants 5G Royalties from Apple and Samsung

Charlotte Henry ·

Huawei is set to start asking the likes of Apple and Samsung 5G patent royalties, executives have said. The Chinese firm did though confirm that it is will to negotiate flexibly, with different rates for different 5G products,  Bloomberg News reported.

The owner of the world’s largest portfolio of 5G patents will negotiate rates and potential cross-licensing with the iPhone maker and Samsung Electronics Co., Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping said. It aims to get paid despite U.S. efforts to block its network gear and shut it out of the supply chain, but promised to charge lower rates than rivals like Qualcomm Inc., Ericsson AB and Nokia Oyj. Huawei should rake in about $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in patent and licensing fees between 2019 and 2021, executives said without specifying which of those stemmed from 5G. It’s capping per-phone royalties at $2.50, according to Jason Ding, head of Huawei’s intellectual property department. China’s largest technology company by revenue wants a seat at the table with tech giants vying to define the rapidly evolving field of connected cars, smart homes and robotic surgery.

Link

UK Uber Drivers Now Receive National Living Wage

Charlotte Henry ·

Uber drivers in the UK now receive the National Living Wage of £8.72 (US$12.18) per hour, following a recent case in the country. BBC News has a good breakdown of what the change means for the ride hailing service, how we got here, and what it might mean for the company more broadly.

The ride-hailing giant said drivers would earn at least the National Living Wage, or £8.72 an hour, in a move that could shake up the wider gig economy. It comes a month after it lost a legal battle in the UK over drivers’ status. Uber said it was “turning the page” on workers’ rights, but some said it had not gone far enough. Analysts also warned the company had increased prices in California after a similar ruling and was likely to do the same in the UK.