Tag Archives: aapl

Apple, Samsung Need Complex Chips, Antennas To Juggle Airwaves

Apple ( AAPL ), Samsung and other smartphone makers will need more advanced chips and antenna components as wireless service providers combine multiple radio-frequency bands to improve network capacity and data speeds, says a Citigroup report. AT&T ( T ), Verizon Communications ( VZ )and Sprint ( S ) are among the wireless firms turning to “carrier aggregation,” a term for combining two or more frequency bands to provide a single communications channel with more bandwidth. This juggling act requires more complex radio frequency chips, says Citigroup. It forecasts a growing market opportunity for chipmakers Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Broadcom ( AVGO ),  Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ),   Qorvo ( QRVO ), Murata and others. Wireless firms are using carrier aggregation as mobile video traffic surges.  “Carrier aggregation is like adding more lanes to widen the highway and creating more space for more cars to travel on the highway at the same time,” says the report. While Apple designs its own antennas, there’s still a market opportunity for Amphenol and AAC Technologies to supply China-based smartphone brands, says Citigroup. Apple’s iPhone 6S series supports 23 frequency bands and the number is expected to keep growing in future devices, says Citigroup. Xiaomi’s new Mi 5 supports carrier aggregation to double its data download speeds, says the report. In the U.S., AT&T was the first to move to carrier aggregation for 4G LTE-A network upgrades, followed by Sprint and Verizon, analysts say. “According to Cisco ( CSCO ) (Systems), mobile data traffic is expected to grow more than 50% in the next five years,” said Citigroup. It expects more “world” phones to be built, with the ability to roam on 4G LTE networks as subscribers travel.

Questions Remain After Feds Quit Apple iPhone Hack Case

The Justice Department’s decision to withdraw its demand that Apple ( AAPL ) help it hack an iPhone in a criminal case is seen as a victory for civil liberties and data security. But the government’s actions late Monday raise a host of questions. The U.S. Department of Justice told a federal judge that it no longer needed to compel Apple to help unlock the password-protected iPhone 5C used by Syed Farook, one of the two now-deceased shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., massacre. The DOJ said that the FBI was able to access data on the iPhone with the assistance of an unidentified outside party. Unanswered questions include: Who unlocked the iPhone for the FBI? How did they do it? Did they find anything useful for the investigation? Is data vulnerable on all iPhones because of the hack? Is the FBI telling the truth about the iPhone hack, or did it just want to back out of the court battle with Apple to save face? Will the feds pursue court action against Apple in other criminal cases? How will Congress address smartphone security amid law enforcement demands for access? “This case should never have been brought,” Apple said in a statement. “Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy.” Apple said that a court order forcing it to write software to bypass its own security protections would have set a dangerous precedent. If it created a “back door” for the government, the data of all iPhone users would have been vulnerable to hackers, criminals and spies, the company said. A U.S. magistrate on Feb. 16 ordered Apple to assist the FBI in hacking Farook’s iPhone. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people on Dec. 2. The radicalized Muslim couple, described in press reports as supporters of terror group ISIS, died in a gun battle with police. Fight for the Future, a digital rights group known for organizing online protests to support Internet freedoms, called the FBI’s decision to back down in the case a victory for the public. “Fortunately, Internet users mobilized quickly and powerfully to educate the public about the dangers of back doors, and together we forced the government to back down,” Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, said in a statement. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Apple Off The Hook: Has FBI Battle Been Good Or Bad For Stock?

Apple ( AAPL ) is now off the hook for helping the FBI hack into the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone, after the feds dropped their case late Monday. But a lot of questions remain unanswered. We don’t officially know the third party used to hack the phone, or its method. We also don’t know what information it was able to recover. One thing’s for sure: The hotly debated Apple-FBI battle has raised questions about smartphone encryption and privacy. As far as how Apple’s stock has reacted to all of this, the share price has risen about 13% since news of the case broke on Feb. 16 — but it had the help of a rally from the major indexes. Shares have been more or less in a standstill since March 16, even with new products from the consumer tech giant unveiled last week, as they try to find support around the 105 price level. The stock is rising 1.4% in above-average trade today, on track to break a three-session losing streak. Apple is up nearly 16% from its January low, but is still 20% below its all-time high of 134.54 reached last April. Silicon Valley heavyweights including Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google, Facebook ( FB ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) all backed Apple in the case, signaling that they too may put up a fight in future encryption cases. Facebook was up 1.1% Tuesday and Microsoft rallied 1.2%. Amazon gained 1.2% and Alphabet added 0.5%. Image provided by Shutterstock .