Brazilian authorities seized “hundreds of iPhones” across retail stores in the country on November 11. The phones were confiscated because Apple was selling them without a bundled power adapter.
Apple has already been granted an injunction against the seizure by a Brazilian court. So, the company can continue selling iPhones until Brazil’s regulatory body takes a final decision.
A Brazilian court fined Apple a second time for not bundling chargers with the iPhones it sells in the country. The court imposed a fine of 100 million reals ($19 million).
The Brazilian association of borrowers, consumers and taxpayers filed the lawsuit in the Sao Paulo state court.
Brazil’s Justice Ministry has ordered Apple to stop selling iPhones without a power adapter in the box in the country. Additionally, it fined the company R$ 12.275 million (US$2.35 million).
The sales ban extends to all iPhones available in the country, including iPhone 12 and newer models.
Apple made the bold decision to stop packaging its new iPhones with a power adapter and EarPods this year. But while you might think Apple’s within its rights to control the accessories that its handsets come with, not everyone agrees.
In Brazil, the state of São Paulo has reportedly decreed that doing so is a violation of consumer rights. The announcement was made by Procon-SP, a public consumer protection agency in São Paulo.
The Brazilian Supreme Court will hear a case determining whether or not Apple can use the iPhone trademark in Brazil. The trademark was already owned by telecommunications firm IGB Eletronica.
The battle between the two companies has been going on for years. Even worse, in 2012 the Brazilian company created a lineup of Android smartphones called “iPhone.”
Apple just had its best September quarter of all-time and CEO Tim Cook couldn’t have sounded happier when he got on the phone with investors today. The company is heading into the holiday season with its best lineup ever and expects to set more records next quarter.
Investors did not seem to be too impressed with the results though. Apple’s stock price dropped from $222.22 to as low as $206 in after-hours training. Despite Wall Street’s worries about Apple, there was plenty of achievements for Tim Cook and Luca Maestri to boast about on today’s call.
There were the biggest revelations from today’s call:
Brazil has become the first South American country to get Apple Pay support.
Users can sign up for the service today by registering their Itaú Unibanco, MasterCard, or Visa credit and debit cards in the Wallet app.
Apple has come out with a colorful new ad for the iPhone X that shows off the device’s amazing selfie camera at one of the most craziest parties in the world: Carnaval in Brazil.
The new ad is part of Apple’s push to make more regional ads. Apple made a similar ad for Carnaval last year that focused on Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Watch the fun new ad:
Apple is in trouble with Brazilian authorities for throttling the performance of older iPhones.
A state agency dedicated to tackling consumer issues has demanded that Apple explains to customers how they can obtain cheap battery replacements. Company employees have reportedly refused to sign the notification.
Apple Pay could be about to launch in Brazil, based on sources familiar with the matter, and terms and conditions issued by one of the country’s major banks.
Users of iOS devices who attempt to add a Visa Platinum Personnalité card from Itaú Unibanco to their Apple Wallet receive a service agreement concerning the use of the card in a digital wallet. Previously, attempts to add this card resulted in a message saying that it was not supported — which is still the case for other bank cards in the country.
Festivities for Brazil’s yearly Carnival party are set to get underway this month and to celebrate the good times, Apple has dropped a colorful new ad showcasing Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Try not to dance while watching:
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio are set to be the most streamed event in sporting history thanks to NBC’s plan to live-stream all 34 sports. Apple TV users can get in on the 4,500 hours of coverage that starts on August 5th even if you don’t have a cable subscription.
Here’s how to watch all the action using Apple TV:
Apple’s encryption showdown with the U.S. government may be more or less dormant for now, but Facebook-owned WhatsApp has its own courtroom drama happening in Brazil. It scored a slight win today, however, as a judge overturned a decision yesterday that would have shut the whole thing down across the country for several days.
The controversy surrounds the messaging app’s end-to-end encryption. Specifically, the developer’s inability (and/or unwillingness) to crack it to comply with law enforcement requests.
Heading down to Rio for the s*** show that will be the 2016 Summer Olympics?
Apple Maps is making it easier for visitors to dodge riots and the zika virus during the trip with the addition of new transit directions for Brazil’s second most populated city.
Apple is ramping up the prices for its entire Mac lineup in seven countries around the world — but don’t blame Cupertino!
Although Apple Pay has seen rapid adoption, it’s still only technically available in the United States. Credit cards issued by U.S. banks have been reported to work with NFC terminals around the world, but no international banks have supported the mobile payments solution yet.
Apple is already working on rolling out Apple Pay in Europe and China, and now it’s been reported that the company is in talks with banks in South America.
Here we have a selection of apps and gadgets, clothes and toys to help you follow along and enjoy the show. The only thing we haven’t included is streaming app, because broadcast rights vary from country to country. Our workaround is to watch on TV or listen on the radio. Or do it like the Brazilians and head to your local bar.
The first Macintosh clone in the world was not one of the Apple sanctioned systems released in 1995, such as those from companies like PowerComputing, Radius, Umax or Daystar Digital. Nor was it the Outbound laptop in 1989, a hybrid system produced using Mac ROMs taken from working Mac Plus systems.
No, the first Macintosh clone was the Unitron Mac 512, a unauthorized copy of the 512k “Fat Mac” produced by a Brazilian company in 1986. And it was a pretty darn impressive copy. The fallout from that effort nearly help start a trade war between Brazil and the United States; to prevent theft of Intellectual Property, Apple and other companies lobbied Congress to hike import taxes on Brazilian goods like oranges and shoes as a response.
And as we know, nobody messes with Tropicana …
It’s not a widely known story. Pieces of this long-forgotten chapter in Mac history can be found scattered on websites around the world. Here is the fascinating tale of the first Macintosh clone in the world.
Apple opened its first store in Brazil over the weekend — with around 1,700 impatient South American Apple lining up to be the first through the doors.
The Apple Store, located in Rio de Janeiro, holds the (dubious) distinction of offering the highest priced iPhone 5s currently available on the market. The 16-gigabyte, contract-free model is selling for 2,799 Brazilian reals — a figure that translates as $1,174.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a flippin’ quadrocopter… with an aerial camera! It’s the Micro Drone 2.0 with an aerial cam so you can capture video from the sky.
This crazy maneuvering remote-controlled Micro Drone 2.0 can do it all! You can literally throw it into the air like a frisbee, upside down or at any angle, and its new self-righting algorithm and sensors will immediately stabilize it back to its horizontal flying position. And you can get it for just $69.99 – 45% off the regular price – thanks to this limited time offer from Cult of Mac Deals!
Apple is all about the dollars; something that usually pleases its shareholders no end.
However that same behavior may be exactly what has wound up getting the company on the wrong side of Brazil’s Consumer Protection Secretariat department.
Summer may be over in our part of the world, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. Sure, the days at the beach and camping in the woods are gone (for now), but there are plenty of other ways to take a much-needed break and have fun at the same time.
Cult of Mac Deals has just the thing to keep you entertained as the cooler weather hits. The Micro Drone is a remote-controlled hyperspeed stunt flier that is considered the most dynamic of its kind. And Cult of Mac Deals has it for only $49 – a savings of 54% – during this limited time offer!
Google Play has finally surpassed the App Store in the number of downloads in a quarter for the first time ever according to a report from App Annie.
Thanks to strong performances in India and Brazil, Google Play topped the App Store with 10% more app downloads in Q2 2013. Despite Google Play netting more downloads, when it comes down to what matters most – cash, money, revenue – Apple is still generating 2.3x more dead presidents than Google Play.
While the U.S. market has been the biggest measure for success with handset makers over the last few years, all of that may soon change as the U.S. smartphone market quickly gets dwarfed by China and others.
According to a new report from ABI Research, China will displace the U.S. as the largest smartphone market by the end of 2013, but just five years later both India and Brazil will pass the U.S. too:
Foxconn has an iPad mini production plant inside Brazil but Apple still hasn’t made the iPad mini available in the country, even though it launched eight months ago in the U.S. Brazilians won’t have to wait much longer though, as a new report claims that Apple make the iPad mini available in Brazil starting next Tuesday.
