Amaya Tomanová Corning under EU scrutiny
American company Corning, glass supplier for the company Apple, is facing an antitrust investigation by the European Commission. The latter suspects it of anti-competitive behavior in the market of glass covers for smartphones, especially in connection with Gorilla Glass technology. The Commission is concerned that Corning may have abused its dominant position by entering into exclusive agreements that would have prevented rival glass manufacturers from competing with them for customers among mobile device manufacturers. The commission is specifically targeting agreements that allegedly forced manufacturers to buy "all or nearly all" of the specialty silica-alumina glass from Corning. “Breaking a mobile phone screen is a very frustrating and costly affair. Strong competition in the production of cover glass for these devices is therefore essential to ensure low prices and high quality cover glass.” Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, said in a statement. "We are investigating whether Corning, one of the main manufacturers of this special glass, may have attempted to exclude competing glass manufacturers and thereby deprive consumers of cheaper and more durable glass." Relations between Corning and Apple they have been very solid over the years. Apple invested $2017 million in the company through its Advanced Manufacturing Fund between 2021 and 495.
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OLED release delayed MacBooku Air
According to a new report from The Elec, the release may be MacBooku Air with OLED display has been significantly delayed from its original expected 2027. Industry sources cited by the Korean media point to supply chain concerns and issues as key factors in the potential delay. The high production costs associated with OLED displays would significantly increase the retail price MacBooku Air, which could reduce its attractiveness to consumers. MacBook Air is often considered the most popular Apple laptop model. According to Canalys, market share has grown Apple Macin the US in the first quarter of 2024 by 22%, an increase that was likely influenced by the introduction of new models MacBook Air M3. However, the latest report points to the disappointing sales performance of OLED iPad Pros this year as an indicator that the switch from LCD to OLED alone is not attractive enough for consumers to justify the increased price. Around 2024 million iPad Pros were expected to be shipped in 10, but that figure was revised to 8,5 million earlier this year and recently dropped to 6-7 million units. Apple reportedly looking for OLED panels for MacBook Air at lower prices, but has very few options. Samsung Display and LG Display are supplying OLED panels for the iPad Pro, but it is expected that only Samsung Display will supply panels for upcoming OLEDs MacBook Pro, which is expected to be launched in 2026. Previous reports indicated that Samsung Display is developing a 13,3″ OLED panel for a future model MacBook Air within the company's long-term plan Apple to switch to this display technology across all of its product lines. The report further suggests that OLED MacBook Air likely to use a simpler configuration with a single OLED layer, unlike planned OLED displays MacBook Pro, which will have a dual-layer design with two emissive layers. However, both models will use hybrid OLED technology.
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Where is the annual report to the owners? Apple Watch?