Apple is reportedly planning to launch three new iPhones this year.
The timing of the news, a day after Samsung unveiled its latest Galaxy S9 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, may seem coincidental. But Mark Spoonauer, editor-in-chief at Tom's Guide, says the American tech giant is nervous about more than just its rivalry.
“I think they’re sweating in general, not necessarily because of competition,” he said. “There was so much hype behind the iPhone X and that sales reportedly are not where they were expected to be.”
According to Bloomberg, Apple will unveil three new devices this fall. One would be the company’s largest yet, with a 6.5-inch screen, another will offer some upgrades to the current iPhone X, and the last is a more affordable version of the $1,000 smartphone.
Samsung is trying to capture some of the users seeing sticker shock with its S9. But a cheaper price tag and a better camera may not be enough to bite into Apple’s U.S. market share, Spoonauer says.
“I think what Samsung needs to do is strengthen their software and their services to make people feel more comfortable about making the switch,” he says. “Just talking to people around the city today, they loved the design of the S9, but they’re nervous about leaving Apple’s ecosystem.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-battle-is-on-samsung-galaxy-s9-vs-iphone-x).
One of Europe's leading micromobility providers, TIER mobility, is expanding into North America after acquiring the micromobility operator, Spin. Ford Motor Company previously owned Spin but is now selling the company to TIER Mobility, which says the deal will make it the largest multimodal micromobility operator in the world in terms of the number of cities it operates in and the number of vehicles in its fleet. Lawrence Leuschner, CEO of TIER Mobility, and Ben Bear, CEO of Spin, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Digital consulting company Publicis Sapient has its sights set on the Metaverse. The subsidiary of the French advertising giant Publicis Group is announcing a new partnership with NFT auction house Portion in an effor to help brands deliver experiences in the metaverse, including the sales of products. Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "In the context of our collaboration with Portion, the first experience that we created was with Decentraland, which is a virtual world," he said. "And car manufacturers in this metaverse, in terms of their buyers, can interact with a virtual person, (and) they can view quality NFTs. They can examine a virtual vehicle, be inside the car, rev an engine, open doors, all without leaving their homes."
Identity and access management company ForgeRock looks to use pattern recognition and artificial intelligence to ease secure access for users as an alternative to just password management. CEO Fran Rosch joined Cheddar News to discuss how the company's services work. "I mean, who likes to set up and use a new password? And they're also really bad security because a lot of people repeat the same one and use it everywhere and use the simplest one possible," he said. "We're trying to really create a smarter better identity system where we can find different ways, smarter ways, of recognizing you as a user and giving you access to what you need by really eliminating the password altogether."
Ford announced today that it will be separating its electric vehicles business from its internal combustion engine vehicles in two divisions named Ford Model E and Ford Blue, respectively. Ford Motor Company CFO John Lawler joined Cheddar to discuss the decision-making behind the restructuring. "When you think about the expertise that Ford has in like body structural engineering, chassis engineering, manufacturing at scale, there isn't an EV startup company out there that wouldn't love to have our capabilities in that space," he said.
