Tag Archives: aapl

Apple might take fewer risks with iPhone 6 to ensure big supply

Apple might be taking fewer risks with its next-generation smartphone to avoid the annual shortages that have plagued recent iPhone launches. Citing unnamed industry sources, DigiTimes reported Tuesday that Apple has decided to continue sourcing fingerprint sensors from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company using a proven, older chip production process rather than a riskier new process. TSMC (TSM) will use its 8-inch processing, instead of 12-inch, to make fingerprint sensors for Apple’s next iPhone because of concerns about yield rates for 12-inch wafer-level packaging, DigiTimes said. Apple (AAPL) previously decided to use the 12-inch process, but changed its mind because of the lower yield rates, which could have caused a supply bottleneck. Apple most recently faced supply constraints with its iPhone 5S, which launched on Sept. 20. Apple CEO Tim Cook said supply issues hindered the company’s December quarter sales of new iPhones and iPads. The company’s next smartphone, the …

‘Flappy Bird’ shows Nintendo’s missed phone games opportunity

The curious case of “Flappy Bird,” a successful yet controversial smartphone game, shows a missed opportunity for Nintendo in mobile games. The Vietnamese developer of “Flappy Bird” pulled the game from the Apple (AAPL) App Store and Google (GOOG) Play store over the weekend, despite its apparent smash success. Developer Dong Nguyen announced on Saturday that he was yanking the game, apparently fed up with the intense criticism about it. “Flappy Bird” was knocked for being frustratingly hard to play and for looking like it copied the design of Nintendo ‘s (NTDOY)popular side-scrolling “Mario Bros.” games. Nguyen claims legal issues did not factor into his decision to withdraw the game. However, two friends of his told Reuters that Nintendo had sent him a warning letter about the game. But the Wall Street Journal says Nintendo has denied that it had complained to Nguyen. Nguyen told the Verge that his free-to-play…

Carl Icahn cries ‘uncle’ in Apple stock buyback campaign

Activist investor Carl Icahn has abandoned his bid to force Apple (AAPL) to adopt a more aggressive stock buyback program. The founder and majority shareholder of Icahn Enterprises said Monday that he is dropping his demands on Apple, citing the company’s recent stock repurchases and the recommendation of an influential proxy adviser. Apple CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal last week that he wanted to be “aggressive” and “opportunistic” in stock buybacks, saying the company had repurchased $14 billion in shares in the two weeks after reporting financial results that disappointed Wall Street. With those purchases, Cook said Apple had bought back more than $40 billion of its shares over the past 12 months. On Sunday, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Apple shareholders reject a proposal by Icahn that the company buy back an additional $50 billion of its stock. ISS said the proposal…