August 4, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

💰 Nothing launches sub-brand that's kinder to your wallet

🍏 Apple's Services category shines in latest quarter

🤖 Scam robocall operation fined record amount by FCC

UP FIRST

Nothing is launching a sub-brand that's kinder to your wallet

A smartwatch and earbuds will be the first gadgets from CMF by Nothing

Nothing won a lot of fans with the launch of the Nothing 2 phone in July, and on Thursday it announced something else to get excited about: CMF by Nothing.

CMF by Nothing is a new product line that promises to offer solid products at appealing prices.

In a video released on Thursday, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said that while his company will continue to focus on pushing the boundaries of design innovation and offer premium products with the latest technology, CMF by Nothing will be more concerned with “clean and timeless design” for products with “a quality that’s very hard to find in this price segment.”

The first gadgets to emerge from the new CMF by Nothing unit will be a smartwatch and earbuds, which are set to land “later this year.”

The pricing of the new items should be very competitive considering that the Nothing 2 phone, which isn’t part of CMF by Nothing, already starts at a very reasonable $600, while its Ear Stick earbuds launched for just $99.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, CMF stands for color, material, finish.

BIG TECH

Apple's Services category shines in latest quarter

The tech giant currently has 2 billion active devices and topped 1 billion paid subscriptions for the first time

Apple’s Services category saw the best year-on-year performance among all of its categories during the three-month period ending June 31, 2023, the company revealed on Thursday, though overall revenue fell for the third straight quarter.

Services, which includes Apple TV+, Music, Fitness, Arcade, Podcasts, and more, hit an all-time revenue record, marking an 8% increase on a year earlier and propelled by 1 billion paid subscriptions, a new high for the company, Apple CEO Tim Cook said.

Overall revenue came in at $81.8 billion, marking a drop of 1% on the same quarter a year ago. Apple also saw revenue falls for the iPhone, Mac, and iPad, while other products (Apple Watch, HomePod, headphones, accessories) saw a 2% increase.

The iPhone is still the main revenue driver, bringing in almost half of the total income for the three-month period. Apple will be hoping that the upcoming iPhone 15 continues the trend.

Here are the numbers:

Revenue: $81.8 billion, down 1% on a year earlier

iPhone revenue: $39.67 billion, down 2% on a year earlier

Mac revenue: $6.84 billion, down 7% on a year earlier

iPad revenue: $5.79 billion, down 20% on a year earlier

Other Products revenue: $8.28 billion, up 2% on a year earlier

Services revenue: $21.21 billion, up 8% on a year earlier

ROBOCALLS

U.S. regulator hands out its biggest-ever fine to robocall operator

5 billion scam calls were made to more than 500 million numbers in just three months

Running a robocall operation can be a costly business, it seems, especially if you find yourself on the end of a fine handed out by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The American regulator has announced what it says is a record-breaking $300 million fine for “the largest illegal robocall operation the agency has ever investigated.”

Operating since at least 2018, the ploy involved a “complex scheme designed to facilitate the sale of vehicle service contracts under the false and misleading claim of selling auto warranties," the FCC said. Two of the central players, Roy M. Cox and Aaron Michael Jones, were already under lifetime bans against making telemarketing calls.

The enterprise placed more than 5 billion robocalls to more than 500 million phone numbers during a three-month period in 2021.

Those behind the nefarious endeavor ignored numerous robocall prohibitions and violated federal spoofing laws.

In 2022, the FCC told U.S.-based voice service providers to stop carrying traffic linked to members of the operation, causing the robocalls to plummet by 99%.

The FCC said that if those involved fail to pay, the case will be sent to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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