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.
