Year: 2019

The Apple Watch and China are Crushing the Swatch Watch Company

CompuScoop Staff January 31, 2019 1

“The Swatch watch is unwinding,” Andrea Felsted and Alex Webb report for Bloomberg. “The Swiss manufacturer of its namesake brand and higher-end timepieces such as Harry Winston is facing twin pressures.”

“The company on Thursday reported worse-than-expected 2018 sales and profits. It was hurt by a slowdown in China in the final three months of the year,” Felsted and Webb report. “While some luxury players, including LVMH, have said that China is holding up, or even improving, that doesn’t seem to be the case in watches. Swiss exports to China fell 10 percent in December, a worrying sign for the industry. Swatch is particularly vulnerable – some 35 percent of revenue was generated from Greater China in 2017, according to Bloomberg data.”

“But there is another threat,” Felsted and Webb report. “In 2018, the annual volume of the devices sold by Apple Inc. might have matched or even exceeded that of the entire Swiss watch industry. The competition has already eaten into the nation’s exports of lower-priced timepieces.”

Apple Watch Series 4 in a Space Black Stainless Steel Case with Space Black Milanese Loop (40mm and 44mm)

“The situation is about to get worse,” Felsted and Webb report. “Revenue from [Apple’s] Wearables, Home and Accessories vertical, which also includes the HomePod smartspeaker and AirPod earphones, jumped 33 percent in the three months through December… Three years ago, Swiss manufacturers mocked the Apple watch. Now, they are no longer laughing.”

Beware of the new ‘CookieMinor’ Malware for MacOS

CompuScoop Staff January 31, 2019 0

“Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 recently discovered malware that we believe has been developed from OSX.DarthMiner, a malware known to target the Mac platform,” Palo Alto Networks reports. “This malware is capable of stealing browser cookies associated with mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet service websites visited by the victims. It also steals saved passwords in Chrome. Finally, it seeks to steal iPhone text messages from iTunes backups on the tethered Mac.”

“By leveraging the combination of stolen login credentials, web cookies, and SMS data, based on past attacks like this, we believe the bad actors could bypass multi-factor authentication for these sites,” Palo Alto Networks reports. “If successful, the attackers would have full access to the victim’s exchange account and/or wallet and be able to use those funds as if they were the user themselves.”

“The malware also configures the system to load coinmining software on the system. This software is made to look like an XMRig-type coinminer, which is used to mine Monero. In fact, though, it loads a coinminer that mines Koto, a lesser-known cryptocurrency that is associated with Japan,” Palo Alto Networks reports. “Because of the way this malware attacks the cookies associated with exchanges, we have named this malware ‘CookieMiner.'”

Read more in the full article here.

Apple’s Swift 5’s Programming Language will make apps much smaller

CompuScoop Staff January 30, 2019 0

Gone are the days when low storage space on smartphones was a major issue faced by every user. Today, smartphones are shipped with more and more onboard storage. Regardless of it, if you often find yourself struggling with low storage space issue on your iPhone, here’s some good news.

An update to the upcoming Swift 5 programming language might help in the reduction of the size of the iOS apps, according to 9to5Mac.

With Swift 5 update, the programming language will become binary compatible. It means that developers won’t have to bundle Swift language libraries while packaging the app.

While there isn’t any confirmed estimation regarding how much size reduction one should expect, a 10%-30% benefit might be possible.

Apart from the reduction in size, the users will also benefit from the faster launch times which will surely make the overall experience smoother for those who are using older iPhones. This will be possible because the libraries needed for running the app will be cached in system memory.

The new Swift 5 version is included in the latest betas of iOS 12.2, tvOS 12.2, macOS 10.14.4, and watchOS 5.2. After these operating systems become generally available to all Apple users, the updated/new apps will be smaller in size.

Via: FossBytes.com

 Component Manufacturing Drives Apple’s U.S. Job Creation

Apple Inc January 30, 2019 0

Just over a year ago, component manufacturer Finisar was awarded $390 million from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund. To expand production of a critical part of the TrueDepth camera system, introduced with iPhone X, Finisar turned an unoccupied building in Sherman, Texas into a bustling operation full of people who will supply that future business.

Johnny Jackson, a 59-year-old machine operator, is one of the company’s new employees. After almost 30 years in the shipping industry, he moved to Sherman and was hired at Finisar.

“You take an old guy like me that’s been doing one job for 27 years, and now I’m learning something new every day,” says Jackson. “The training here is tremendous — you’ll be good because you’ve been trained by people who are good.”

In 2018, Apple spent $60 billion with 9,000 American component suppliers and companies, an increase of more than 10 percent from the year before, supporting more than 450,000 jobs.

Jackson’s new job is one of 500 being created as Finisar brings the Sherman facility back online. The plant will produce vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers — or VCSELs — for Apple, powering breakthrough features of the latest iPhones and iPads, including Face ID and Animoji. VCSEL wafers are nearly as thin as a human hair and contain hundreds of layers measuring only a few atoms in thickness. They require a highly advanced and precise manufacturing operation, as well as skilled technicians with specialized training.

Finisar is just one example of Apple’s expanding investment in US job growth and manufacturing. In 2018 alone, Apple spent $60 billion with 9,000 American component suppliers and companies, an increase of more than 10 percent from the year before, supporting more than 450,000 jobs.

The touch sensitive glass for iPhone and iPad is made by Corning at a 65-year-old facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Cincinnati Test Systems in Ohio designed a first-of-its-kind equipment to ensure iPhone is water resistant. And Broadcom in Fort Collins, Colorado, Qorvo in Hillsboro, Oregon and Skyworks in Woburn, Massachusetts, are all making wireless communication hardware that enables global connectivity.

Since 2011, the total number of jobs created and supported by Apple in the United States has more than tripled — from almost 600,000 to 2 million across all 50 states.

Army veteran Michael Turner, 40, started as a process technician at Finisar’s Sherman facility in June. A father of two and grandfather of one, Turner is also a mentor for the AMP Program, an effort by local manufacturers to teach high school students about advanced manufacturing jobs and encourage them to explore future careers in the field.

Khan Qurashi, who was the first woman hired as an equipment engineering technician at Finisar’s Sherman plant, graduated with an associate degree in laser electro-optics in 2017. She says her new job will give her the opportunity to further develop her advanced manufacturing skills.

“I really like learning and I want to become a mechanical engineer,” says Qurashi. “And with Finisar, I can study for my degree and keep working for the company.”

As for Jackson, who has been on the job at Finisar since October, he feels like he’s been given a fresh start.

“New skills, new home, new job,” he says. “And a new outlook on life.”