Archives for June 3, 2017

All the news we expect from Apple’s huge developers conference

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Apple CEO Tim Cook will be on hand for the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5. (Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Apple’s (AAPL) massive Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off Monday, June 5 at 1 p.m. E.T., and we’re expecting a host of new announcements.

These announcements will give us a view into what the company has been working on over the past year, as well as what we can expect with its upcoming iPhone 8.

Apple is known for using WWDC to showcase its newest software updates. That means we’ll likely see the latest versions of the company’s iOS for the iPhone and iPad, as well as macOS for Mac desktops and laptops.

Apple should also announce improvements to its watchOS and tvOS systems, and could even roll out its very own Siri speaker to compete with the likes of Amazon’s (AMZN) Echo and Google’s (GOOGL, GOOG) Home.

iOS 11

Apple regularly debuts the latest version of its iOS operating system at WWDC, and this year’s event should be no different. Interestingly, while hardware leaks are the norm for Apple’s devices now, we hardly see as many software leaks hit the web. That means we don’t know very much about iOS 11 quite yet.

So far, the big rumors point to major updates to Apple’s Siri voice assistant, which first landed on the iPhone in 2011. While Siri has seen a slew of updates since then, it still can’t quite match the power of Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Assistant apps.

Apple’s iOS 11 will bring updates to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, and some hints as to what we might see in the iPhone 8.

With iOS 11, Apple could change that by bringing Siri more in line with what modern voice assistants have to offer such as expanded voice capabilities and improved language understanding.

According to The Verifier, Apple could also add group calling to its FaceTime app, which would bring it in line with Google’s Hangouts and Microsoft’s Skype offerings.

Whatever updates we see for iOS 11, it’s important to keep on eye on even the smallest changes, as they could provide a hint of what the iPhone 8 has to offer.

Siri speaker

Outside of iOS 11, Apple’s biggest potential announcement at WWDC is the Siri speaker. There haven’t been any leaked images of the speaker, which would compete directly with Amazon’s Echo, Google’s Home and Microsoft’s (MSFT) upcoming Cortana-enabled offerings.

MacRumors says that Apple device will likely include facial-recognition technology and run off of the company’s iOS operating system.Bloomberg reports that Apple has already begun manufacturing the speaker, which means it could go on sale in the relatively near future.

It will be interesting to see if Apple is capable of producing a product as powerful as Amazon’s Echo, especially since the Echo allows you to purchase items directly through Amazon using only your voice.

macOS

The software behind Apple’s Mac laptops and desktops, macOS is also expected to see some improvements at WWD. Little is known about the next major update to macOS, though if Apple sticks to recent patterns, it will likely throw in more iOS compatibility features to ensure iPhone users and Mac users stay within Apple’s product ecosystem.

watchOS and tvOS

As with Apple’s macOS, it’s still not clear what updates are coming to watchOS and tvOS.As CNET notes, Apple could begin offering a glucose monitor for the Apple Watch that would help diabetics monitor their blood sugar levels.CNBC reported in March that Apple CEO Tim Cook was seen walking around the company’s campus with a device connected to his watch that monitored his glucose.

MacBook updates and a new iPad

These rumors are a bit of a stretch, as Apple doesn’t usually announce much hardware at WWDC: But the mill keeps pointing to the potential for updated MacBooks and a new iPad debuting at the big show.

According to Bloomberg, Apple will roll out three new MacBooks including a new version of the super-slim MacBook with a more powerful Intel processor, an upgraded MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with a new CPU.

Apple’s insanely thin and light MacBook is rumored to be getting an update at WWDC.

It sounds like these MacBooks will only get improved internals, so don’t expect them to sport any new designs.

The new iPad, meanwhile, is said to sport a 10.5-inch display and offer stylus support. 9to5Mac says the iPad will manage to pack its large screen into a body that’s not much larger than the current 9.7-inch iPad.

The Hot Stock: Broadcom Soars 8.5%

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Better-than-expected earnings made Broadcom the best performing stock in the S&P 500 Friday.

Broadcom (AVGO) soared to the top of the S&P 500 today after reporting higher-than-expected earnings and a larger role in Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 8.

Broadcom gained 8.5% to $254.53 today, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.4% to 2,439.07.

AVGO reported another solid quarter, beating expectations handily. Management noted that seasonal declines in the wireless segment were less than expected and more than offset by contributions from other segments. All segments, including wireless, increased on a year-over-year basis. Looking ahead to fiscal Q3, AVGO’s guidance is above expectations on seasonal wireless strength, albeit slower initially than AVGO has experienced in previous cycles, continued, and somewhat unexpected, strength in storage, and a stable wired communications environment. We continue to view AVGO as one of the strongest technology companies within the semiconductor universe and we believe that meaningful upside to the company’s longer-term margin targets is possible. We continue to expect AVGO’s valuation discount to the peer group average (~14.5x versus 18.9x) to narrow as management continues to execute on its longer-term strategy. Our 12-month price target of $261, raised from $250, is based on a 16x multiple on our new 2018 EPS estimate of $16.34.

Broadcom’s market capitalization rose to $107.9 billion today from $94.2 billion yesterday.

Putin Says ‘Be Happy’ About Trump on Climate, on Everything

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  • Russian leader urges American executives to support Trump
  • Anti-Russia ‘hysteria’ is like anti-semitism, Putin says


Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wouldn’t judge U.S. President Donald Trump for withdrawing from the Paris climate-change agreement. He spoke during a panel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Excerpt. Language: English translation. Source: APTN) (Source: Bloomberg) 

Vladimir Putin shrugged off Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the most ambitious effort to combat global warming, marking the third time in two days that the Russian president came to the defense of his embattled U.S. counterpart.

“Don’t worry, be happy,” Putin said in English, responding to a question about the Paris climate accord from Megyn Kelly, the NBC television host who moderated the main event at his annual investment forum in St. Petersburg.

During an expansive three-hour panel discussion that was joined by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Kremlin leader once again rejected U.S. claims of Russian state-sponsored hacking in elections and dismissed reports of improper contact between his officials and Trump’s presidential campaign, comparing the allegations to anti-semitism.

“They blamed the Jews for everything — we know what this sort of attitude leads to,” Putin said. “It’s easier to say that it’s not our fault, that it’s the Russians, they meddled in our elections and we’re the good guys.”

‘Take a Pill’

Putin said he wouldn’t “judge” Trump for pulling out of the climate pact, which almost 200 nations approved in 2015, including Russia. He said there’s still time to reach a new deal but not without the U.S., so the international community should “create the conditions for joint work.”

The New York property tycoon, who praised Putin repeatedly during last year’s presidential campaign, is facing multiple probes in Washington into the extent of his alleged links to the Kremlin. Putin said that Russia struck no agreements at meetings with representatives of the incoming Trump team and that Americans “should take a pill” to calm the “hysteria” over the issue.

“They didn’t talk about anything concrete, just general words about how to build relations — shouldn’t they think about how to build relations?” he said.

Earlier on Friday, Putin made an unscheduled appearance at a roundtable for U.S. and Russian companies to urge American executives to help Trump end tensions between the two countries, which he said are at “Cold War” levels.

Help Trump

“Help us to restore normal political dialogue,” Putin told the participants. “I ask you on behalf of Russia and I urge the American side — help the newly elected president and the new administration of the United States.”

“Of course, we’ll make every effort to ensure that business in Russia is beneficial for our American partners,” Putin said.

On Thursday, the KGB veteran told a small group of journalists at a czarist-era palace here that he likes outspoken guys like Trump and he applauded the new White House occupant for defending himself against the kind of entrenched bureaucracy that’s prevalent in capital cities around the world.

“He’s direct, open,” said Putin, who’s commanded Russia for 17 years. “He can’t be put in the same category as traditional politicians. I see great advantages because he’s a person with a fresh view.”

Artistic Hackers

Putin, who is widely expected to seek a final six-year term in March, went out of his way to use Russia’s premier business event of the year to heap praise on Trump, at one point calling him a “real man.” He also used the spotlight to intensify his rejection of allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Kremlin-backed hackers interfered in the 2016 election.

The nature of sophisticated cyberattacks are such that they can be made to look like they came from anywhere, Putin said, adding that there’s “no proof” of any involvement by Russia at the “state level.” Still, he dangled the possibility that patriotic Russians could have been behind the electronic intrusions into the campaign of Trump’s main challenger, Hillary Clinton.

The St. Petersburg native, 64, compared hackers to free-spirited “artists” who may wake up one morning, see how their homeland is being maligned in the foreign media and decide to act on their own.

“If they’re patriotically minded, they start making their contribution,’’ he said.