We take a weekly look at mobile and tech stories from around the world. Headlines include… U.S. Regulators Ramp Up Antitrust Scrutiny on Big Tech’s AI Dominance, Huawei Mate XT Hits 5M Pre-Orders; Supply Doubts Persist, Google Loses €2.4B EU Appeal for Search Market Abuse and more… Alternatively listen On MEF Radio.
U.S. Regulators Ramp Up Antitrust Scrutiny on Big Tech’s AI Dominance
WSJ
U.S. antitrust regulators as well want to be more aggressive than in the past in probing big tech firms, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The Justice department is scrutinizing giants like Nvidia for potential dominance in the emerging AI market. The Department has questioned Nvidia, which holds over 80% of the AI chip market, about its contracts and partnerships. While no subpoena has been issued yet, one could be forthcoming if the investigation deepens. The Federal Trade Commission is also reviewing investments by Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet in leading AI startups to determine if these companies gained undue advantages. This proactive stance contrasts with past regulatory approaches, where agencies were less aggressive in emerging tech markets. The shift towards more rigorous antitrust enforcement reflects growing concerns over the power of major tech players.
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Huawei Mate XT Hits 5M Pre-Orders; Supply Doubts Persist
Digitmes
Huawei’s new $2,800 Mate XT smartphone, featuring a trifold display, received 5 million pre-orders as for Thursday during its launch week. The Mate XT was unveiled just after Apple’s iPhone 16. Analysts question whether Huawei can meet demand, given U.S. sanctions limiting access to advanced chips and production hurdles with its partner SMIC.
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Apple’s iPhone 16: New Camera Button, Bigger Screens, Same Price; AI Coming Later
Apple
While we wait for Artificial Intelligence, let’s check it out: Apple’s new iPhone 16 doesn’t look much different from last year’s models. The lineup introduces a Camera Control button, resembling a DSLR shutter, allowing users to quickly launch the camera and take photos. The Pro models feature slightly larger screens at 6.3 and 6.9 inches, with thinner borders. Other updates include a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera. And — of course — the much talked about the AI-powered “Apple Intelligence” software, which will debut later, though. The new iPhones retain the same price points, starting at $799 for the base model. Preorders began Friday, with shipping on September 20.
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Google Loses €2.4B EU Appeal for Search Market Abuse
Curia
Google has lost its appeal against a €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) EU fine for abusing its dominance in the search engine market to favor its own shopping services over rivals.
The European Court of Justice upheld the 2017 ruling, marking a significant win for EU regulators.
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Telecom Italia Bids €100M for BT’s Italian Assets – Reuters
Reuters
Telecom Italia has submitted a non-binding bid for BT’s remaining operations in Italy, aiming to secure about €100 million from BT to take on the assets. Reuters first reported on this. Other interested suitors include Retelit and private equity firm Nextalia. A deal would bolster TIM’s domestic enterprise business, which focuses on connectivity, cloud, and cybersecurity services.
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OpenAI’s ‘Strawberry’ Models Mimic Human Reasoning, Master Complex Problems
OpenAi
OpenAI’s new AI models, part of the “Strawberry” series, are designed to reason more like a person by breaking down complex problems into smaller, logical steps.
This approach, known as “chain-of-thought” reasoning, allows the models to spend more time processing answers and refining their strategies. The newly announced o1 and o1-mini models have shown impressive improvements: the o1 model achieved an 83% score on the International Mathematics Olympiad qualifying exam, a significant increase from the 13% scored by the previous GPT-4o model. These models excel in challenging areas such as science, coding, and math, and can now solve problems at a PhD-level accuracy. OpenAI developed these models to enhance their problem-solving capabilities, enabling them to tackle complex tasks autonomously and with greater precision.
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EU Slams Apple with €13 Billion Tax Bill in Landmark Court Defeat
Europa
This week saw rising tensions between the EU and tech giants as the European Court of Justice ordered Apple to pay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland, overturning a 2020 decision.
The court upheld the EU’s 2016 ruling that Ireland granted Apple illegal state aid. EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager called it a win for tax justice, while Apple criticized the decision, claiming retroactive tax changes.
This case follows other high-profile tax battles involving Amazon and Starbucks, marking a key moment in Europe’s efforts to regulate Big Tech.
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CMA Warns Vodafone-Three £16.5B Merger Could Drive Up Prices
Gov.UK
Meanwhile, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised concerns that the proposed £16.5bn merger between Vodafone and Three could lead to higher prices and reduced services for millions of customers.
The watchdog’s initial findings prompted the CMA to demand changes to the deal.
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Global Telecom Giants Launch Venture with Ericsson to Sell Network APIs
Ericsson
Global telecom giants, including América Móvil, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom, have joined forces with Ericsson to create a new company that will globally sell network software, namely Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), aiming to spur innovation in digital services.
The venture will offer developers easy access to advanced network capabilities, historically inaccessible, to streamline the integration of telecom operators’ functionalities across different platforms.
The initiative, partnering with Vonage and Google Cloud, will enable applications to work seamlessly across any network.
Potential use cases include fraud prevention and dynamic streaming.
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