EU accuses Apple of DMA breach, Freely signs up Smart TV brands
European Union regulators have accused Apple of being in breach of new laws designed to rein in big tech companies. The European Commission, which regulates competition in the EU, said Apple’s App Store squeezes out rival marketplaces, marking the first time it has found a company in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The firm faces a potential fine of up to 10% of its global revenue if it fails to comply with the rules. Apple said it is “confident our plan complies with the law”. BBC
Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Z Flip6 on July 10, and we recently learned that the phone could be $100 more expensive in the US, compared with last year’sexp foldable. Today, a report came from Europe, suggesting a similar price increase in the Old Continent, where the Z Flip6 will be about €150 more expensive.
The information acquired by Saminsider suggested Samsung will offer the Galaxy Z Flip6 for €1,340 for the 256 GB model and €1,467 for the 512 GB model. For comparison, the Flip5 was either €1,200 or €1,320 last year. GSM Arena
BT Group targeted energy savings of 4.5 million kWh per year from the deployment of so-called cell sleep technology across its EE 4G network, following successful trials of the technology. Announcing the nationwide rollout, the operator explained the software puts certain sites into a sleep mode during predicted periods of low traffic. Low demand periods have been identified using machine learning technology. MobileWorldLive
Freely, the UK’s ambitious free-to-stream TV platform is expanding its reach with the announcement that four major Smart TV brands will soon offer Freely on their devices. Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, and Metz are set to join Hisense and Bush in the Freely lineup, potentially bringing the streaming service to many more UK households – as long as they’re willing to buy a new TV. This expansion marks another important step in Freely’s bid to become the digital successor to Freeview and Freesat, offering viewers a single platform for content without the need for an aerial or satellite dish.Cordbusters
Amazon is looking to charge a monthly subscription fee between $5-$10 (roughly £3.99-£7.99) for a next-generation Alexa voice assistant that competes directly with OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT model, the upgraded Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, and Google Gemini, sources speaking to Reuters have revealed. Alexa — one of the most popular voice-activated assistants — is currently available at no cost to anyone who owns an Amazon Echo smart speaker, smart display, Fire TV set-top box, or downloads the Alexa app. GBNews
There were a number of exciting announcements from Apple at WWDC 2024. However, a subtle addition to Xcode 16 — the development environment for Apple platforms, like iOS and macOS — is a feature called Predictive Code Completion. Unfortunately, if you bought into Apple’s claim that 8GB of unified memory was enough for base-model Apple silicon Macs, you won’t be able to use it. It’s closest thing we’ll get from Apple to an admission that 8GB of memory isn’t really enough for a new Mac in 2024. XDA
Every summer, Jensen Huang used to host Nvidia’s latest crop of interns at his Silicon Valley mansion, opening up his house and pool area, as well as his collection of supercars. Despite being described by one attendee as a “frat party”, the gatherings were more of a nerdfest. Social media photos from the event show interns holding fruit cups rather than beers. In one, the billionaire host perches on his diving board with an intern, the pool’s waters untouched.Today though, Huang has plenty of reasons to let loose. Last week Nvidia overtook Apple and Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable company.
