France

8GB iPhone 5c only available in UK, France, Germany, Australia and China

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 18, 2014

Apple's newly launched cheaper iPhone 5c model with eight gigabytes of storage is only available in select few markets, a spokesperson for the company confirmed Tuesday. The device is available in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and China. It is not, however, on sale in the United States, for the time being.

By comparison, the relaunched fourth-generation iPad with Retina display is available across all territories because that device is a replacement for the company's phased-out iPad 2 and now represents the new entry-level, full-size iPad offering. The introduction of the entry-level 8GB iPhone 5c is largely viewed as an effort to help boost the device's lagging sales...

Apple launches iPhone trade-in program in France

Cody Lee ∙ March 4, 2014

In August of last year, Apple introduced an official trade-in program for iPhones. The deal gives customers an affordable way to upgrade to a new handset by getting store credit based on the value of their current, working iPhone—up to $300 depending on model and condition.

Initially, Apple only accepted trade-ins in-store in the United States, but it has since expanded the program to the UK and India. And yesterday, an Apple spokesperson confirmed that the company has rolled out the popular trade-in offering to a third country this week: France...

Two-step Apple ID authentication launches in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Spain

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

Following a flurry of reports which criticized various security holes allowing hackers to break into people's Apple ID accounts, Apple in March of 2013 finally stepped up account security by rolling out two-step verification for Apple IDs in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

Two months later, the feature launched in nearly a dozen additional countries: Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland and Russia.

And now, as part of the third wave of expansion, the firm is enabling stronger account security for Apple ID users located in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Spain...

Google updates Search iOS app with support for French, German and Japanese

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2013

Google issued a major mid-August update to its free Search app for the iPhone and iPad with new Google Now cards for flights, reservations, package delivery information and more.

And last month, the firm followed up with another sweet update that implemented 'OK Google' hands-free voice control functionality, support for single sign-on, reminders, alerts for delayed flights and upcoming appointments/events and other perks.

This afternoon, the Internet giant pushed a minor update which expands international support to three new languages: French, German and Japanese...

France probes Apple’s iPhone contracts with carrier partners

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 25, 2013

Apple is yet again under investigation. An arm of France's finance ministry is probing how the iPhone maker contracts with French cell phone carriers.The examination comes less than a week after Apple released two new smartphones, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the administrative section of the country's finance department is "investigating the terms of contracts between cellphone suppliers and French phone operators for the sale of devices such as the iPhone."...

AppleCare+ launches in UK, France, Italy as Apple quietly jacks up incident fee to $79

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 10, 2013

If you're planning on buying a brand spanking new iPhone 5c or treat yourself to one of the colorful new plastic iPhones, you'd be wise to consider Apple's $99 AppleCare+ extended warranty coverage.

Because, for all the talk of the iPhone 5c's seamless hard-coated polycarbonate plastic shell ("you won’t see seams, or part lines, or joins,” Apple boasts; here's how it's made), the device is in fact prone to scratches and can be damaged.

The problem is, AppleCare+ is only available in the United States, Canada and Japan. Well, not anymore. Today, the extended warranty coverage is available to customers in the United Kingdom, France and Italy. Learn more just after the break...

Investigators raid Apple France offices over unfair business practice

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2013

Apple's woes with French authorities persist with news that the country's watchdog has conducted a thorough raid of the company's offices over accusations of unfair business practices. According to local news reports, French watchdog is investigating claims that Apple has screwed the country's major wholesalers and distributors by offering better deals with its own retail stores.

This isn't actually terribly surprising given some third-party retailers have been complaining for years that Apple has been discriminating them. However, this is the first time a major antitrust organization is investigating the company over the assumed business practice...

Apple complies with two-year warranty requirement in France, Germany and Belgium

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2013

The latest in Apple warranty shenanigans in Europe: caving in to pressure from a number of the European Union member states, the company has now updated its warranty policy in Belgium, giving all buyers two-year warranty as standard.

Remember, Apple's insistence on upselling European customers to its paid AppleCare extended coverage has failed to impress authorities in Europe, where two-year warranty is required by law.

In Italy, for example, Apple was fined $264,000 in Italy over offering only a single year of warranty as standard...

Apple fails to pay $6.5M in taxes on iPad sales in France

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 3, 2017

As if Apple's recent woes with the United States government over offshore tax havens weren't enough, the French association SACEM (they control royalties) has now discovered that even though Apple did charge iPad buyers a 1 percent tax for cultural works, it's failed to pass the money to SACEM.

The inexplicable slip up could cost Apple dearly, especially in light of the recent debate over how U.S. corporations creatively pay little to no taxes on the revenue earned from overseas sales...

French government takes issue with Apple’s AppGratis removal

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2013

The AppGratis app curation software is no longer available on the App Store but the controversy is far from being over. After AppGratis CEO Simon Dawalt lambasted Apple on a company blog for kicking his app out of the App Store, a move he called "an absolutely crazy situation to deal with," a French minister today slagged the iPhone maker over the ouster. Fleur Pellerin, France’s junior minister for digital economy, publicly described Apple’s decision to pull AppGratis as “extremely brutal and unilateral.”

She urged European regulators to “think about legislation” because Apple is not “behaving ethically" in its dealings with small startups like AppGratis...

France Telecom CEO: gold rush is over, budget iPhone is inevitable

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Apple's rumored less-pricey iPhone has been envisioned over and over again in some damn good renderings. The rumor mills have been churning out their fair share of whispers on a regular basis and both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have thrown their credibility behind the meme. But despite all this crazy talk and tremendous speculation, Apple is seemingly unimpressed as the company's marketing honcho kinda shot down the rumor, recently telling the press his company isn't one to blindly pursue market share.

Be that as it may, analysts warn there's only that much room to grow in the saturated high-end smartphone market. Therefore, conventional wisdom has it, Apple's going to need a more affordable device sooner than later. This has now become a sentiment shared by one wireless carrier CEO who cautions of changing consumer behavior as a lot of folks are now unwilling to pay north of $600 for an unlocked smartphone...

Bureaucracy preventing French from getting LTE on their iDevices until year’s end

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 4, 2013

Owners of LTE-enabled Apple devices in France won't get to enjoy the benefits of speedy cellular downloads before the end of 2013 amid lobbying between the country's wireless carriers and the agency for telecommunications ARCEP.

The country's local carriers like Orange and SFR last year spent to the tune of €1.2 billion, or approximately $1.6 billion, to acquire the 800MHz band.

The problem is, this radio frequency is supported neither by the iPhone 5 nor by many mobile devices from other vendors, including Samsung. Moreover, these carriers are now asking the ARCEP to wait until at least end of 2013 before refarming the 1,800MHz spectrum, which is compatible with Apple's handset...