The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has withdrawn reports it issued to some companies, saying iPhone maker Apple had violated the country’s competition laws, according to Reuters. It is clear that this unusual action is due to Apple’s complaint. The move follows Apple’s complaint that its trade secrets were leaked to its competitors, including the owner of the Tinder app, Match.
In 2021, India launched an investigation into allegations that Apple was taking up to 30 percent of revenue from apps downloaded from the App Store. This, on the other hand, was progressing slowly. The CCI upheld the allegation that Apple was taking advantage of its dominance over other companies.
In a letter to Apple’s rivals on August 7, the CCI asked them to return the report they had submitted. CCI says that such reports must be kept confidential. The order also states that the information in their reports should not be given to anyone without permission.
An official who did not want to be named said that Apple complained because the report contained information about how much revenue Apple gets from the App Store in India and how much market share the company has. CCI released two reports in 2022 and 2024 saying that Apple abused its dominance.
ADIF and Match, a start-up representing Paytm, have been asked to return the report. Apple also demanded that the CCI withdraw these reports immediately. Some legal experts in the country said that this is an unprecedented development. This is the time when various commissions like CCI around the world are taking action against Apple.
Apple may not buy a subscription to Intelligence until 2027
This year, the iPhone maker is going to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) features called Apple Intelligence for the first time in its devices. There were many speculations about this. Some reports said that there may be two versions of Apple Intelligence, and those who need to use the more powerful version may have to pay a monthly subscription of Rs 1000-2000.
But Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman predicts that he thinks the company plans to give it away for free for at least the next three years. Gurman says that it will take at least that much tomorrow for Apple Intelligence to be strong enough to raise money. However, in the future, Apple may release a powerful AI called Intelligence Plus.
Apple’s cloud service iCloud offers 5GB free to everyone. However, those who pay for iCloud Plus get more cloud storage. Apart from that, iCloud also provides features like Private Relay. One argument is that Apple Intelligence Plus will be similar to this. Meanwhile, some suggest that iCloud and Apple Intelligence may be offered as a package.
MicroLEDs are made according to Apple; LG wants compensation
Companies including South Korean manufacturer LG have stepped in as Apple has said it is making an Apple Watch using microLED panels, and that it needs to produce a display for it. Apple then abandoned the project. With this, suppliers such as Klulicke and Soffa, who tried to deliver microLEDs by believing Apple’s word, were also cut off.
In any case, LG demanded that Apple compensate them, according to the report. According to the report, LG has spent a lot of money on the backplane process to make such a panel for Apple. LG Display also manufactures devices such as iPhone and iPad. Some analysts say that Apple may include LG’s lost revenue in the price of OLED panels it manufactures.
