Corporate

Former Android executive Hugo Barra to head Facebook’s Oculus and virtual reality teams

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 26, 2017

When former Android executive Hugo Barra announced three days ago he was leaving Chinese handset maker Xiaomi, he provided standard boilerplate explanation: he wanted to spend more time with his family because living and working abroad has taken a toll on his health and life.

Then again, that's exactly the kind of stuff that you'd expect high-ranking executives to say when jumping ship or seeking greener pastures with another team.

As it turns out, Barra is leaving Xiaomi not because he's burned out but to join Facebook where he will be charged with managing the Oculus team and the company's other virtual reality projects, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday.

Marketing executive Musa Tariq leaving Apple to become Ford’s VP & Chief Brand Officer

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2017

Musa Tariq, Apple's executive, is leaving the company to join Ford, the car maker said Tuesday.

Tariq was Apple’s global marketing and communications director for retail for a little more than two years. At Ford, he will be Vice President and Chief Brand Officer, a new position created as the company focuses on new mobility services.

Despite Note 7 fiasco & bribery scandal, Samsung just had the most profitable quarter in 3 years

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2017

Despite seeing its brand tarnished and anywhere between $2 billion and $5 billion wiped off its operating profit in the aftermath of Note 7 fiasco, Samsung of South Korea has managed to boost its fourth quarter earnings on the back of its semiconductor division and strong sales of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge flagship devices.

Operating profits rose to $7.2 billion over the last three months of 2016 on sales of about $45.8 billion. Samsung's mobile division captured $2.1 billion in operating income, a four percent year-over-year profit increase.

Samsung Mobile expects sales of its low-cost phones in the Galaxy A and J series to grow in the coming months. All in all, this was Samsung's most profitable quarter in three years as the company has clearly bounced back from the global Note 7 recall.

Former Android executive Hugo Barra leaving Xiaomi next month

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2017

Hugo Barra, who used to be Google's senior executive in charge of Android before leaving the Internet giant for Xiaomi in August 2013, announced on his Facebook profile that he's leaving the Chinese handset maker. He'll be returing to Silicon Valley in February after the Chinese New Year to spend more time with friends and family.

As Vice President of Xiaomi's International unit, Barra was responsible for making the company's Mi handsets available in more countries globally.

Xiaomi has yet to start selling its products in the United States.

Apple honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a tribute on its website

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 16, 2017

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States and Apple has joined the celebration with an appropriate tribute in the form of a full-page image on its website and a tweet from CEO Tim Cook. “We honor Martin Luther King by working to help achieve justice and equality,” reads Cook's message.

Cook's tweet is accompanied by the famous King quote: “We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.”

Foxconn reports first ever annual sales decline since going public 25 years ago

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 10, 2017

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group posted its first ever sales decline since it went public back in 1991, Japanese outlet Nikkei reported Tuesday. The outlet expectedly blames “lukewarm demand” from Foxconn's biggest client Apple and the “saturated smartphone market” for the 2.81 percent drop in annual sales.

For context, Foxconn earns more than half of its revenue from doing business with Apple. The Taiwanese company is also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry and assembles iPhones and other gadgets like PlayStation consoles, notebooks, wearable devices and so forth on a mass scale.

In its appeal to EU tax ruling, Apple calls itself a “convenient target”

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2016

Later this week, Apple and the government of Ireland will appeal against the European Union's $14.5 billion tax ruling targeting Apple's sweetheart tax deal with Dublin that the EU deemed “illegal state aid.” According to Reuters today, the Cupertino firm will object to the fact that EU regulators ignored established tax experts and common corporate law.

Apple's legal strategy involves painting itself as a victim of its own success. EU deliberately singled out Apple due to its success and picked a method to maximize the penalty, said Apple's top lawyer Bruce Sewell.

Apple has been quietly poaching engineers from automotive mapping company Here

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 15, 2016

Over the past few months, Apple has been quietly hiring engineers away from Here, a Berlin-based automotive mapping company, for mapping jobs in Berlin. Interestingly, Apple's never publicly confirmed that it has an office in Berlin.

According to LinkedIn profiles discovered by Business Insider, Apple's poached at least half a dozen employees from Here, jointly owned by German car makers Audi, BMW and Daimler.

Feast your eyes on iSpaceship closeups, ground-level images and interior photographs

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

We've been tracking rapid construction progress at the Apple Campus 2 site thanks to avid YouTubers who take their expensive drones to the skies each month so we can marvel at jaw-dropping aerial footage of the ring-shaped building that'll soon become home to a whopping 13,000 employees.

Just ahead of Apple's planned early-2017 move in, French blog MacGeneration treats us to never-before-seen photographs showing off intricate details and the building's vast interiors at the 2.8 million-square-foot site.

Fitbit buys Pebble’s software assets, but cancels new hardware

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 19, 2018

Fitbit, the maker of popular activity and fitness trackers, has officially acquired Pebble. The deal was finalized this morning, both companies have said.

The acquisition includes all of Pebble's software assets, but excludes any hardware. Yup, that's right—looks like the Pebble smartwatch is officially dead.

“Due to various factors, Pebble is no longer able to operate as an independent entity,” the company said. “We have made the tough decision to shut down the company and no longer manufacture Pebble devices.”

Take a closer look at iSpaceship’s underground auditorium, R&D building and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 29, 2016

Drone footage of iSpaceship site captured by YouTuber Matthew Roberts has impressed us thus far and his latest video is no exception. In addition to showing continuous progress in terms of landscaping and solar panels on the massive flying saucer-shaped building, new videos provide a closer look at an R&D building and an underground auditorium where future events will be held.

Apple R&D center launching in Indonesia in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2016

According to Indonesian publication Tempo, Apple has agreed to set up a research and development center in Indonesia, home to 250 million people. The country's Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara told the outlet that Apple will be setting up its R&D facility in early 2017 in the city of Jakarta.

While Rudiantara couldn't reveal the investment value, he expressed hope that Apple would build additional R&D centers in other Indonesian regions.