Apple Working On A Subscription Games Service

Apple Working On A Subscription Games Service
Number	736
Broadcast Date	JANUARY 28, 2019
Episode Length	3:55
Hosts	Rich Stroffolino

Apple is reportedly working on a subscription gaming service, smartphone shipments decline in China for the second straight year, and the Japanese government wants to hack the country’s IoT devices.

Headlines

• Apple Plans Gaming Subscription Service: Sources

Alex Heath with Cheddar reports that according to sources, Apple is in the early stages of planning a subscription game service, offering unlimited access to a bundle of games for the subscription fee. Apple reportedly began private discussions with game developers on the service in the second half of 2018. The report also stated that Apple has had talks with developers about directly publishing titles, assuming distribution, marketing, and other related costs. Pricing and the types of games the service might include are unknown.

• The Trump presidency is paying off bigly for Uber

On January 25th, the National Labor Relations Board voted 3-1 that drivers for the Dallas-based shuttle service SuperShuttle were contractors, not employees. The ruling was based on the idea that SuperShuttle drivers had "total autonomy to set their own work schedule.” Unlike Uber, SuperShuttle drivers were employees until 2005, when the company switched to a franchise model. While drivers can set their own schedules, SuperShuttle sets the fares, and drivers are required to meet a code of conduct, maintain vans with SuperShuttle branding, and undergo 16 hours of driving training annually.

• Japanese government plans to hack into citizens' IoT devices

The Japanese government approved a law amendment that would allow employees of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology to survey Internet of Things devices in the country. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, NICT employees will be able to use default passwords and password dictionaries to attempt to log into IOT devices. The Institute will then compile a list of insecure devices to pass on to authorities and ISPs. The survey will kick off in February and aims to look at over 200 million devices on both consumer and business networks. The hope is to secure these devices ahead of the 2020 summer Olympic games in Tokyo.

• Crucial biometric privacy law survives Illinois court fight

The Illinois Supreme Court dismissed an appeal that could have rolled back the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act, which requires consent for companies to collect Biometric markers. The case involved a lawsuit against Six Flags, which allegedly fingerprinted a minor without parental consent. Six Flags argued that the plantiff had to show tangible injury in order to be held liable. The court ruled that “a person need not have sustained actual damage beyond violation of his or her rights under the Act,” and that any expense a business paid to meet the law's requirement were small next to the "substantial and irreversible harm" biometric information can cause if not properly safeguarded.

• Dropbox buys electronic signature start-up HelloSign for $230 million

Dropbox announced plans to acquire the electronic signature company HelloSign for $230 million in cash, the largest acquisition in the company's history. HelloSign will operate independently with CEO Joseph Walla reporting directly to Dropbox SVP of engineering and product Quentin Clark. Dropbox will continue to work with other electronic signature providers.

• Nvidia tanked 14% after the chipmaker cut guidance, citing ‘deteriorating’ economic conditions in China

In a note to investors, Nvidia lowered Q4 revenue guidance, citing "deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, particularly in China." The company now expects Q4 revenue of $2.2 billion, down 19% from their original $2.7 billion guidance. Nvidia said both datacenter and gaming divisions would see declining revenue, specifically citing crowded channel inventory following the end of the cryptocurrency mining boom.

• China’s smartphone market falls 14% in 2018, with just under 400 million units shipped

The analyst firm Canalyst published a report showing smartphone shipments in China fell 14% in 2018, reaching their lowest level since 2013, for a total of 396 million units. This marks the second straight year of decline, after a 4% drop in 2017. The Chinese smartphone market also consolidated, with the top five manufacturers claiming 88% of shipments in 2018, up from 73% the year before. Huawei and Vivo bucked the trends and grew shipments by 16 and 19%, respectively. Oppo and Xiaomi each saw single digit declines, with Apple declining 13% on the year and maintaining the number 5 spot in the country.

Links

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Preceded by: "Week in Review for the Week of 1/21/19"

Apple Working On A Subscription Games Service

Followed by: "Apple Takes Group FaceTime Offline"