tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/apple-235/articlesApple – The Conversation2024-03-28T00:03:01Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2265122024-03-28T00:03:01Z2024-03-28T00:03:01ZThe US is suing Apple for anti-competitive behaviour. But the company’s walled-off tech ecosystem has driven its bold innovation<p>With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. </p>
<p>Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive tech ecosystem. Now, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has alleged this ecosystem is <a href="https://www.theverge.com/24107581/doj-v-apple-antitrust-monoply-news-updates">harming competition and innovation</a> through Apple’s unique market power. </p>
<p>The department’s lawsuit will face a few big hurdles. Perhaps chief among them: many of the “anti-competitive” systems Apple has built are the very things that enable the bold innovation they’re famous for. </p>
<h2>The charges</h2>
<p>Apple is the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-to-open-broad-new-antitrust-review-of-big-tech-companies-11563914235?mod=article_inline">latest modern major US tech firm</a> to face investigation into alleged anti-competitive behaviour by the US government. </p>
<p>The DOJ explains its <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.544402/gov.uscourts.njd.544402.1.0_3.pdfv">lawsuit</a> through five consumer-relatable examples of where Apple’s iPhone ecosystem stifles competition: </p>
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<img alt="A samsung phone open to WeChat on the phone's app store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584652/original/file-20240327-18-d3fjtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584652/original/file-20240327-18-d3fjtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584652/original/file-20240327-18-d3fjtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584652/original/file-20240327-18-d3fjtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584652/original/file-20240327-18-d3fjtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584652/original/file-20240327-18-d3fjtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584652/original/file-20240327-18-d3fjtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The department blames Apple’s closed tech ecosystem for a lack of US competitors to ‘super apps’ like WeChat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kazan-russian-federation-jun-15-2018-1149046790">Allmy/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<ol>
<li><p>the inability to give “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-03-25/did-apple-kill-super-apps-like-wechat-justice-department-thinks-so">super apps</a>” like WeChat full functionality on iPhone</p></li>
<li><p>restrictions on game streaming apps</p></li>
<li><p>a <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/01/what-apples-promise-support-rcs-means-text-messaging?ref=platformer.news">functionality divide</a> between “blue bubble” and “green bubble” friends on iMessage</p></li>
<li><p>poor connectivity between non-Apple smartwatches and iPhones</p></li>
<li><p>digital wallet technology that locks out third parties.</p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-apple-amazon-google-and-meta-facing-antitrust-lawsuits-and-huge-fines-and-will-it-protect-consumers-221501">Why are Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta facing antitrust lawsuits and huge fines? And will it protect consumers?</a>
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<p>In the US and other jurisdictions, the tech giant has already <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/apple-concedes-to-european-banks-amid-concern-on-new-rba-payment-power-20240122-p5ez45">taken steps</a> to address some of these concerns.</p>
<p>However, the DOJ stresses these complaints aren’t exclusive or exhaustive. They’re examples to show where Apple’s “closed” ecosystem locks customers into what Apple has built.</p>
<h2>Private innovation requires private infrastructure</h2>
<p>One problem for the DOJ is that the tech world has been left to private design for 30 years. Enjoying strong growth and innovation has meant relying on private infrastructure. </p>
<p>Having the most disruptive ideas might draw consumer attention, but vast infrastructures keep them as customers (for example, <a href="https://openai.com/blog/openai-and-microsoft-extend-partnership">OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft</a>). </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/faculty-of-arts-and-education/research/critical-digital-infrastructures-and-interfaces">research group</a> considers how digital innovations come to shape the “infrastructures” that guide our increasingly digital lives.</p>
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<img alt="An appple lightning connector and a USB C connector" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584657/original/file-20240327-28-6dl957.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584657/original/file-20240327-28-6dl957.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584657/original/file-20240327-28-6dl957.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584657/original/file-20240327-28-6dl957.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584657/original/file-20240327-28-6dl957.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584657/original/file-20240327-28-6dl957.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584657/original/file-20240327-28-6dl957.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Despite its long insistence on ‘lightning’ connectors, Apple had a major hand in developing USB-C technology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/charging-cables-phone-on-black-background-1919745620">Ivan_Shenets/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Consider Apple’s influence on the mundane and technical, such as <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2015/03/14/apple-invent-usb-type-c/">USB-C technology</a>. Or surprising cultural shifts, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/07/apple-airpods-launch-problems-with-wireless-headphones">Airpods</a>. And even how iPhone technology <a href="https://medium.com/@ignaziomottola/the-history-of-instagram-ff266eb75427">effectively launched Instagram culture</a>.</p>
<p>The DOJ’s core argument is that Apple’s business model has now shifted from leading innovation to gatekeeping its cultural-technical infrastructures. </p>
<p>Such shifts are not necessarily planned evils. Infrastructure can lead to further infrastructure with novel benefits: it is no accident internet fibre cables <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/how-railroad-history-shaped-internet-history/417414/">follow old rail lines</a> on land and telegraph cables undersea. </p>
<p>Over time, though, a combination of cultural-technical infrastructures built up by a powerful company can monopolise a market. To know that story’s end game, <a href="https://doctorow.medium.com/boeing-spirit-and-jetblue-a-monopoly-horror-story-c69fd6586afd#:%7E:text=Bill%20Clinton%27s%20administration%20oversaw%20the,dropping%20out%20of%20the%20sky.&text=As%20Matt%20Stoller%20says%2C%20America,but%20has%20no%20say%20over.">think Boeing</a>.</p>
<h2>Defining Apple’s monopoly</h2>
<p>Another problem for the DOJ is it will be hard to define the market that Apple allegedly monopolises or attempts to. Use of the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/sherman-anti-trust-act#:%7E:text=The%20Sherman%20Anti%2DTrust%20Act%20authorized%20the%20federal%20government%20to,foreign%20nations%22%20was%20declared%20illegal.">1890 Sherman Anti-Trust Act</a> on firms requires such a definition. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1770830966669344908"}"></div></p>
<p>It makes sense the department is using this act against Google, which controls <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share">more than 90%</a> of the search market. But Apple’s market share is far lower – not even a majority of mobile phone sales worldwide.</p>
<p>To get around this, the department argues the market that Apple does have is unique. Apple is famously good at creating its own markets – rehashing familiar things (hard drives and MP3 files) to make novel products (iPods) that “just work” for consumers and suppliers.</p>
<p>Apple’s competitive edge is creating the exclusive platforms it’s now being pursued for. </p>
<p>As many will remember, before the iPhone, browsing the internet on a phone wasn’t a thing. Before iTunes, digital music was a pain or illegal. </p>
<p>For millions of Apple fans across the US, the DOJ’s logic is a hard sell. </p>
<h2>A highly trusted middleman</h2>
<p>Notably repeated in this lawsuit is the need for “<a href="https://www.electronicmarkets.org/fileadmin/user_upload/doc/Issues/Volume_09/Issue_01-02/V09I1-2_Strategies_for_Internet_Middlemen_in_the_Intermediation-Disintermediation-Reintermediation_Cycle.pdf">disintermediation</a>”, which means removing the “middlemen” who take a cut between customers and suppliers.</p>
<p>The DOJ alleges Apple acts as such a middleman by imposing on consumer choice – whether by restricting Apple’s interoperability with other products, or charging a <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/01/08/the-cost-of-doing-business-apples-app-store-fees-explained">30% fee</a> (the so-called <a href="https://www.insightpartners.com/ideas/do-you-have-to-pay-the-apple-tax-its-complicated/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CApple%20Tax%E2%80%9D%20is%20a%20slang,subject%20to%20a%2030%25%20surcharge">Apple Tax</a>) to do business on Apple’s platforms. </p>
<p>The challenge is that in a world of bad actors on the internet (evil or incompetent), people actually seem to love Apple’s capacity to intermediate. </p>
<p>The company’s strict control of its apps, products and services enables growth across its platforms and has given it a <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/apple-long-a-champion-of-consumer-privacy-and-security-now-sits-at-a-crossroads/">reputation</a> for being an exceptional “middleman” for privacy, usability and other consumer concerns. </p>
<p>For example, Apple’s wallet launched to <em>not</em> transmit credit card numbers to merchants, who <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_data_breaches">regularly suffer data breaches and leaks</a>. It <a href="https://birchtree.me/blog/digital-wallets-and-the-only-apple-pay-does-this-mythology/">offered an intermediary solution</a> where evil (and <a href="https://www.applicoinc.com/blog/happened-currentc-platform-innovation-fails/">incompetent</a>) actors abound.</p>
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<img alt="person pays using an Apple watch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584653/original/file-20240327-18-4jjhqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584653/original/file-20240327-18-4jjhqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584653/original/file-20240327-18-4jjhqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584653/original/file-20240327-18-4jjhqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584653/original/file-20240327-18-4jjhqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584653/original/file-20240327-18-4jjhqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584653/original/file-20240327-18-4jjhqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Apple Wallet securely completes transactions without sharing credit card details with a merchant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/person-paying-cafe-smart-watch-wirelessly-1298158189">Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The department’s <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.544402/gov.uscourts.njd.544402.1.0_3.pdf">claim</a> this practice creates an “additional point of failure for privacy and security” is incoherent.</p>
<p><a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/specialprojects/protectingfinancialstability/timeline">An extensive history of cybercrime incidents</a> around the world shows that for consumers, credit card companies and merchants, holding customer data becomes a liability, as well as an asset. </p>
<p>During the pandemic, Apple’s trusted ability to intermediate also fostered the success of “<a href="https://developer.apple.com/exposure-notification/">Exposure Notification</a>”, a privacy-preserving contact tracing system that kept personal exposure data away from governments and other parties.</p>
<p>But in other areas, the department argues that Apple has leveraged this reputation in self-serving ways. </p>
<p>Fortnite developer Epic Games’ <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/23/apple-versus-epic-games-fortnite-app-store-saga----the-story-so-far">ongoing stoush</a> with Apple over policies to charge 30% on in-app purchases is one key example. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="App store icon, epic games icon, both on a phone screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584663/original/file-20240327-18-jr4bml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584663/original/file-20240327-18-jr4bml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584663/original/file-20240327-18-jr4bml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584663/original/file-20240327-18-jr4bml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584663/original/file-20240327-18-jr4bml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584663/original/file-20240327-18-jr4bml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584663/original/file-20240327-18-jr4bml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Epic Games sued Apple after being kicked off the App Store for adding a direct billing mechanism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/app-store-vs-epic-games-concept-1967268796">mundissima/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Many developers would likely have followed Epic in trying to get their customers cash out of Apple’s grasp, if not for <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-in-apples-war-on-developers-users-are-the-biggest-losers/">fear of retribution</a> from Apple. </p>
<p>Yet, Epic Games largely <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/23/apple-versus-epic-games-fortnite-app-store-saga----the-story-so-far">lost to Apple</a> in US courts, and this year the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals. This loss may have compelled the DOJ to act.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-google-and-fortnites-stoush-is-a-classic-case-of-how-far-big-tech-will-go-to-retain-power-144728">Apple, Google and Fortnite's stoush is a classic case of how far big tech will go to retain power</a>
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<p>Even the success of this lawsuit won’t necessarily bring about useful change at Apple or for the consumer. </p>
<p>In Europe, the tech giant has already demonstrated an expert capacity for “<a href="https://proton.me/blog/apple-dma-compliance-plan-trap">malicious compliance</a>” – after meeting the European Union’s new <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-markets-act-ensuring-fair-and-open-digital-markets_en">Digital Markets Act</a> policy in such bad faith that its solution barely works and is now being <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_1689">re-investigated</a>. </p>
<p>Overall, it’s not that Apple is necessarily, well, a “bad apple”, but that “<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1344546/dl?inline">Apple vs USA</a>” allows us to think different about what really drives innovation in modern tech.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226512/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Heemsbergen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Department of Justice will have to prove that Apple’s ‘closed’ platforms have hurt rather than helped its customers.Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254062024-03-22T16:20:58Z2024-03-22T16:20:58ZIndustrialisation is still vital to economic development but some countries are struggling to reap its benefits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581880/original/file-20240314-28-tax1ga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5920%2C4642&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/industrial-worker-factory-welding-closeup-218715772">SvedOliver/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the US, wrote a wealth of reports that served as building blocks for the country’s economic system. In 1791, during his time as secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton published one of his most important: the <a href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-10-02-0001-0007">Report on the Subject of Manufactures</a>. </p>
<p>It argued that the US needed to develop its manufacturing sector through the use of industrial and trade policy to grow its economy, bolster its military, increase its productivity, and catch up with the industrial and technological powerhouse of the time, Great Britain. </p>
<p>Hamilton died in 1804. But US policymakers, led by Henry Clay, followed Hamilton’s advice. Throughout the 19th century, the US succeeded in its mission of catching up with Great Britain and eventually became the world’s technological superpower.</p>
<p>It’s important that we remember Hamilton’s report. It’s a reminder of how thinking and strategising for economic growth and international competitiveness was changing. It was changing to a mindset that national sovereignty, economic development, international competitiveness and productivity growth are achieved through industrialisation. </p>
<p>But this long-established relationship between economic prosperity and industrialisation is now starting to change. So-called “megatrends” (technological, economic, societal and ecological trends that have a global impact) are changing traditional ideas of technological progress and, as a result, the way countries look to develop their economies. </p>
<p>My book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-future-of-the-factory-9780198861584?cc=gb&lang=en#">The Future of the Factory</a> investigates how four megatrends are changing (and not changing) industrialisation and manufacturing-led growth. These megatrends are: the rise of services, digital automation technology, globalisation of production and ecological breakdown.</p>
<h2>Digital technology</h2>
<p>In some ways, megatrends are not changing or diminishing the importance of manufacturing-led development. </p>
<p>Digital services are increasingly seen as an alternative to manufacturing in boosting economic development. But they are not replacing the manufacturing sector as the engine of innovation and productivity growth. The manufacturing sector still scores <a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/155731631771398616/at-your-service-the-promise-of-services-led-development">substantially higher</a> than the service sector on tradeability, innovation potential and spillovers to other parts of the economy.</p>
<p>Digital automation technology has also undoubtedly been disruptive in some sectors and countries. But they are not a significant threat to overall job displacement. This is primarily because automation technology tends to create more jobs than it displaces. </p>
<p>The introduction of the personal computer (PC) is a great example. In the US, the PC <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages">created</a> 15.8 million more jobs than it displaced between 1980 and 2015. Research has also <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/what-happened-to-jobs-at-high-risk-of-automation-10bc97f4-en.htm">found</a> that the countries who faced a higher overall automation risk in the early 2010s experienced higher employment growth than other countries in subsequent years. </p>
<p>It seems we are excessively hyping up the expected impact of new technology on economic organisation, as we have done so many times in the past. Industrialisation and factory-based production remain crucial for economic development and innovation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People sat at desks using computers in an office." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581762/original/file-20240313-16-fvu77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581762/original/file-20240313-16-fvu77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581762/original/file-20240313-16-fvu77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581762/original/file-20240313-16-fvu77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581762/original/file-20240313-16-fvu77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581762/original/file-20240313-16-fvu77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581762/original/file-20240313-16-fvu77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The PC has created many more jobs than it has displaced.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/diverse-multiracial-workers-sitting-desk-working-1295892817">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Uneven opportunities</h2>
<p>Power asymmetries in the world economy are, however, creating uneven opportunities to reap the benefits from industrialisation. At worst, they are making it harder for developing countries to industrialise altogether. </p>
<p>Transnational corporations based in high-income countries are more powerful than ever. And they often use this power to prevent countries, firms and workers in developing countries from getting a fair share of profits in global production systems. </p>
<p>Apple, for example, doesn’t actually “make” the iPhone. It outsources the production of every single component. But Apple still somehow manages to walk away with over 50% of the final retail price.</p>
<p>By contrast, the firms and workers in developing countries who assemble the iPhone (the most labour intensive part of the process) get <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-future-of-the-factory-9780198861584?cc=gb&lang=en#">less than 1.5%</a> of the final price. Large corporations like Apple also use their power to lobby for international trade agreements to work in their interests. </p>
<p>Additionally, high-income countries refuse to take their fair share of blame for ecological breakdown. They preach green industrial policy to developing countries before putting their own house in order. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00044-4/fulltext">study</a> found that high-income countries were responsible for 74% of global excess resource use between 1970 and 2017, despite accounting for only 15% of the world’s population. By contrast, low-income and lower-middle income countries, which make up around 50% of the world’s population, accounted for a mere 1% of global excess resource use over this period. </p>
<p>Given these developments, our system of international trade needs to be reformed so that it is fair rather than “free”. And developing countries should also have more ecological policy space in their implementation of industrial policy. The burden to deal with ecological breakdown should fall mainly on high-income countries, as these are the countries that got us into this mess.</p>
<h2>The return of industrial policy</h2>
<p>In many ways, Alexander Hamilton’s insights are still timely. Hamilton stressed the urgent need for policymakers to build up manufacturing capabilities to achieve economic growth and development. </p>
<p>This is what the US government is currently doing in an effort to re-industrialise its economy and especially to become more competitive with China. In July 2022, the US Senate <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/us/politics/senate-chips-china.html">passed</a> a historic US$280 billion (£222 billion) industrial policy bill — the largest industrial policy bill in history. </p>
<p>And the US is not the only country actively revamping industrial policy. The global use of industrial policy is at an <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2023/12/23/The-Return-of-Industrial-Policy-in-Data-542828">all-time high</a> as the world grapples with geopolitical tension and shocks to global supply chains. Although megatrends are changing industrialisation in some ways, they are not changing its importance. </p>
<p>We can also use Hamilton’s insights to understand the nature of competition in the modern world economy. The world economy is vastly different today, but we need to understand, like Hamilton understood, that industrialisation is a competitive game that involves power, politics, dirty play – and even warfare. </p>
<p>If the playing field is level, competition isn’t all that bad. But the global playing field today certainly isn’t level when it comes to the distribution of industrial and technological capabilities. This is one of the main obstacles to economic development in the 21st century.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jostein Hauge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In an era of transformation, manufacturing still matters.Jostein Hauge, Assistant Professor in Development Studies, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256042024-03-19T18:17:35Z2024-03-19T18:17:35ZSmart rings’ ultra-precise movement tracking takes wearable technology to the next level<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581943/original/file-20240314-26-1uz986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6382%2C4248&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/male-hands-blue-velvet-box-containing-2053213751">Vigen M / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a lot of hype about smart rings right now – <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsung-galaxy-ring-everything-we-know-so-far/">Samsung is due to release a Galaxy ring</a>, and there is unsubstantiated speculation that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2024/02/27/apple-developing-ring-to-beat-samsung-galaxy-ring-report-claims/?sh=4195d8954e2c">Apple is considering a ring too</a>. But why would you want a smart ring in the first place?</p>
<p>The short answer is that they are likely to fulfil the same health and activity tracking as a watch, leaving your wrist free for a more fashionable or traditional timepiece.</p>
<p>But they can also track the your body’s movements much more precisely than other wearable technology, and record detailed information about the movement of your hands. This could allow you to control and interact with other technology in new ways – but also raise even more concerns about privacy.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://ouraring.com/">Oura ring</a> has been available since 2015 and one of us, Max, has been wearing one for more than five years. He does this to track sleep and activity data during times when he does not want to wear a watch (including sleeping). These rings track changes in your body temperature, heart rate, heart rate variability (the time intervals between heart beats), blood oxygen levels, and physical activity. A smart watch can also do much of this. </p>
<p>It is expected that the Galaxy Ring will do the same (at least that is what one of <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/smart-ring-competition-heats-up-with-samsungs-announcement-of-galaxy-ring/">their announcements focuses on</a>), and be added to its health and fitness range.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.patentlyapple.com/2023/08/apple-has-won-a-major-smart-ring-patent-designed-to-control-companion-device-uis-speed-scroll-documents-use-in-air-gesture.html">Apple’s patent application</a> indicates that its version may do more than monitor health. It may help control other devices, and vibrate to give users notifications.</p>
<h2>Benefits all round?</h2>
<p>Fingers are better than wrists at making specific gestures. With many more finger gesture options than arm positions, and finger gestures being the primary mode of interaction for VR (virtual reality) headsets, one probable future for smart rings is to control other devices. This would allow for the more precise detection of actions like pinching and pointing. </p>
<p>Multiple rings could work together to achieve this, with other devices. Apple’s ring patent, for example, implies that rings could be worn in different bands along the length of a single finger (not an uncommon choice with normal rings), allowing a company to know how your finger is angled. If communicating with a watch, smart rings could detect finger and hand position in relation to your arm. This potentially provides more precise interactions with VR headsets.</p>
<p>In being able to carefully track fingers, rather than wrists, smart rings might allow technology companies to understand, model, and help improve many more activities, especially in situations where cameras and sensors are less likely to be found. </p>
<p>One example of this is learning to play classical guitar, which does not involve as much strumming with the whole arm or at the wrist, but where all the skill is in the fingers. Bringing sensors closer to the body’s more dexterous touch sensors means that technology companies can more closely understand what you are doing. </p>
<h2>Status symbols</h2>
<p>Rings are jewellery, often worn to be seen. Apple is well known for making aesthetics a priority in its products. While the Galaxy ring looks a lot like the Oura Ring, it’s likely that Apple will consider the importance of personalisation and style.</p>
<p>Rings are not just worn on fingers, of course. Could rings for piercings, that go inside the body to some extent, like those on our ears or lips, give us additional data on ourselves? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman runner using smart watch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582558/original/file-20240318-18-3tco3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582558/original/file-20240318-18-3tco3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582558/original/file-20240318-18-3tco3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582558/original/file-20240318-18-3tco3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582558/original/file-20240318-18-3tco3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582558/original/file-20240318-18-3tco3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582558/original/file-20240318-18-3tco3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smart watches have found a particular use in fitness and health monitoring.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-fitness-woman-runner-checking-time-705175816">Ground Picture / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There might also be value in incorporating smart technology into other adornments. There are already smart products <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/best-smart-jewelry?r=US&IR=T">designed to be worn as necklaces</a>. Potentially necklaces could help monitor stress levels because stress is closely linked to breathing patterns. There has also been a <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90853727/this-bra-tracks-your-vital-signs">smart bra</a>.</p>
<h2>Rings signify attachment</h2>
<p>The most well-known association that a ring has is as a gift of commitment and attachment. Researchers have looked at how we can use digital technology to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/634067.634252">communicate with loved ones who are not physically present</a>. Apple’s smart ring patent includes haptic feedback (where technology applies forces or vibrations to the user to simulate the experience of touch).</p>
<p>Smart wedding rings could be used to transmit messages between partners – to let one of them know the other is thinking about them. For example, an interaction such as twisting the ring could make your partner’s ring vibrate.</p>
<p>However, new smart devices will generate new forms of data and tracking, raising important questions about privacy and ethics. As with other wearable technology, there may be things people do not want to track. Imagine a message from your workplace telling you: “We see you aren’t typing at your desk right now.” </p>
<p>Social problems are also a possibility. If smart technology was incorporated into wedding rings, it could give people a way of tracking what their partners were doing even more closely than smartphones can.</p>
<p>These questions highlight the importance of governments focusing on the <a href="https://www.rai.ac.uk/">responsible use of AI</a>, as well as responsible innovation. <a href="http://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2023/11/be-smarter-than-your-smart-tech/">Research shows</a> that over half of British people (52%) feel like they do not know how their personal data is being collected and used.</p>
<p>Companies could create more targeted advertising based on changing circumstances, as when someone learns they are pregnant. Some regions of the world even offer cheaper life insurance to people with better health data from wearables.</p>
<p>What we should ask is: what is responsible and irresponsible for companies to track and try to infer about people from their wearables? This question should be at the forefront of thinking in the big tech companies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Horia Maior receives funding from UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Max L Wilson receives funding from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the European Union, as well as past research funding support from Google Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Benford receives research funding from The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UKRI and the European Union. He has previously received funded from Unilever to research smart mirrors.</span></em></p>Smart rings can collect information about us that smartphones and smart watches struggle to.Horia Maior, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of NottinghamMax L Wilson, Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, University of NottinghamSteve Benford, Professor of Collaborative Computing, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254652024-03-13T12:28:21Z2024-03-13T12:28:21ZWhat we know so far about the rumoured Apple smart ring<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581294/original/file-20240312-18-nq5gb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3858%2C2583&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A generic image of a smart ring in use.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/modern-payment-new-technology-payments-using-691766359">Fotos593 / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Samsung officially announced the launch of a new smart ring-shaped wearable device, Galaxy Ring, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7x0E0hLaJ8">part of its Galaxy Unpacked event</a> earlier this year. The ring, expected to be on sale in late summer 2024, will be able to monitor the user’s health parameters and provide insights based on the health metrics observed, which is very similar to what a smartwatch can do.</p>
<p>The global smart ring <a href="https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/34772/smart-ring-market/">market is expected to grow</a> from USD$314.52 billion (£246.3 billion) in 2023 to USD$2,570.30 billion (£2,012 billion) by 2030. So it is no surprise that Apple is now rumoured to be <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2024/02/27/apple-developing-ring-to-beat-samsung-galaxy-ring-report-claims/?sh=53a35fbd4e2c">applying for its smart ring patents</a> and is expected to have the product ready in time to compete with Samsung’s release.</p>
<p>But it might be surprising to learn that neither Samsung nor Apple are pioneers in this new wearable technology. <a href="https://ouraring.com/">Oura was launched in 2015</a> with a Kickstarter campaign for the first generation ring.</p>
<p>Now on its third generation, with the fourth one expected in 2024, this smart ring can measure respiratory rate, heart rate, health rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen levels, and body temperature. The ring also has an accelerator that logs the user’s activity and movement. However, the main question is: is wearable technology worth it?</p>
<h2>What is wearable technology?</h2>
<p>Wearable devices come in many shapes and sizes, including smart watches and sports watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays, smart jewellery, smart clothing, and even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9185336/">implantable devices</a>.</p>
<p>Technological advances have enabled manufacturers to access low-cost, low-power sensor technology and develop this variety of devices. At a minimum, wearable devices are equipped with sensors, software and connecting technology.</p>
<p>The sensors gather information from the person wearing the device, and the software gathers the data and sends it to a device with processing capacity via a wireless connection. The ecosystem on which wearable technology works is <a href="https://www.oracle.com/uk/internet-of-things/what-is-iot/">known as the Internet of Things (IoT)</a>. It is the same principle as smart technology used at home, on devices such as thermostats that can be operated from a mobile device outside the home, or smart speakers, but applied at a personal level. It is important to note that mobile devices do not process the data; it is usually sent to “the cloud” for processing, and the mobile device displays the data to the user.</p>
<p>What makes an IoT solution even more attractive is the interpretation of the data gathered by the sensors. For example, the <a href="https://ouraring.com/oura-experience">Oura Ring and the Oura Membership</a> allow users to monitor their sleep, manage stress and predict when they might get sick by monitoring body temperature and heart rate. This is all possible due to analysis of the data collected by the ring. </p>
<p>With advances in artificial intelligence (AI), it is expected that in 2024, there will be a <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/what-to-expect-from-smartwatches-in-2024-more-ai-new-health-features-and-more/">boost in health tracking</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Smart watch and smart phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smart rings are unlikely to replicate the functionality of smart watches and other devices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/data-synchronization-health-book-between-smartwatch-188507768">Alexey Boldin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Benefits and drawbacks</h2>
<p>Smart rings come with sensors similar to those of a smartwatch. However, because of their proximity to large blood vessels in the fingers, smart rings can provide more accurate readings than smartwatches, because they can use the capillaries (small blood vessels) in your finger to get their readings. Another advantage of smart rings is that they have a longer battery life than smartwatches. However, smart rings are unlikely to come with GPS or a screen.</p>
<p>In terms of price, the cheapest version of the Oura ring starts at £299 and users must pay a membership fee of £5.99 per month, with the first month free. This is required to get all the benefits of data analysis. However, the ring will still work with the Oura mobile app. The most affordable version of the AppleWatch, the SE version, starts at £219, while the Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Bluetooth starts at £239.</p>
<p>Smart rings can’t and won’t be able to replicate the functionality offered by a smartwatch. However, they represent an attractive choice for users interested in health tracking, who also want a simple device with minimalistic features. <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsungs-surprise-galaxy-ring-whos-the-wearable-actually-for/">Bryan Ma</a>, the Vice President of devices research at International Data Corporation, has said: “The idea behind such rings is not so much about being cheaper than smartwatches, but instead being a much smaller and discrete device for use in cases like sleep tracking.”</p>
<h2>The future of wearable technology?</h2>
<p>Wearable technology will continue evolving, with a strong focus on health monitoring. For example, Microsoft has been <a href="https://duoskin.media.mit.edu/">exploring smart tattoos</a> as the next generation of wearable tech since 2016. However, due to the labour intensive fabrication technique for gold leaf, which is used in the tattoos, researchers are now focusing on more robust, advanced, and inexpensive materials.</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Washington have also <a href="https://www.washington.edu/news/2024/02/07/smart-earrings-can-monitor-temperature/">developed the thermal earring</a>. This was able to measure the user’s earlobe temperature but shows promise for other areas of monitoring, including for eating and exercise. Although not commercially available, this device demonstrates how engineers are developing new ideas for wearable devices.</p>
<p>Under Armour already sells <a href="https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/t/connected-shoes-page.html">running shoes embedded with Bluetooth and sensors</a> that track run statistics such as distance and pace. The shoes also measure running from metrics such as cadence (steps per minute), ground contact time, foot strike angle and stride length. </p>
<p>The app provides real time audio coaching, but only focuses on cadence. In future, we can expect to see advances in <a href="https://www.feelgoodcontacts.com/blog/smart-contact-lenses-of-the-future">smart contact lenses</a>, <a href="https://shop.jakcom.com/products/jakcom-n3-smart-nail-chip">smart nails</a>, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Nordic-news/2018/02/beam-smart-button">smart buttons</a>, and many more.</p>
<h2>Is wearable technology worth it?</h2>
<p>The expected increase in the market size of this technology shows users’ interest in monitoring their health and improving their lifestyle. Developments in the Internet of Things, in general, have improved our way of life and supported our wellbeing.</p>
<p>Connected devices collect, track, and store user data, which is the primary purpose of the technology. What users need to know is that many wearable devices share data with third party apps and services, and it is often unclear how this data is being used. The data can be sold to other companies or utilised for different purposes without the user’s knowledge or consent. Moreover, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/08/theres-a-hack-for-that-fitbit-user-accounts-attacked.html">wearable devices can be hacked</a>.</p>
<p>With this in mind, and as we have done with all new technology, users must consider the advantages of wearable technology and determine if the risks are worth taking. If security and data privacy are a concern, users are encouraged to follow all security recommendations provided by experts and manufacturers to protect their devices and research more on how their data is used and shared.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Sanchez-Velazquez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What are the benefits and drawbacks of putting smart technology into a ring?Erika Sanchez-Velazquez, Deputy Head of School, Computing and Information Science, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239952024-02-23T17:16:46Z2024-02-23T17:16:46ZYour smart watch isn’t a medical device – but it is tracking all your health data<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577550/original/file-20240223-16-alopfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C8648%2C5774&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fit-female-runner-using-smart-watch-1037615245">Jacob Lund / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For millions of people, smartwatches aren’t just a piece of technology. They can use them to take control of their health in ways never thought possible.</p>
<p>As you go on your morning run, a smartwatch can monitor the rhythmic pounding of your feet and your heart’s steady beat. The watch can record the <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/can-you-trust-fitness-tracking-stats-ajJf85J6C42l">distance covered and the intensity of your workout</a>, guiding you towards your fitness goals.</p>
<p>During lunch, you can use it to <a href="https://blog.fitbit.com/fitbit-calories-in-vs-out/">log calories for a BLT sandwich</a>. As deadlines loom, they can offer gentle reminders to take a moment for yourself. And as you doze off, they <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/samsung-galaxy-watch-gets-first-ever-fda-clearance-for-sleep-apnea-detection/">might pick up instances of apnoea</a> or other sleep disturbances.</p>
<p>But some users could also conflate health tips with medical advice. Device and app developers have <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/features/fitbit-apple-know-smartwatches-arent-medical-devices-but-do-you/">consistently made it clear</a> that their products cannot replace a professional medical doctor’s advice or treatment. </p>
<p>A smartwatch is not a medical device as defined by law. In the UK, medical devices are strictly regulated in a way that other devices such as smartwatches are not. These regulations provide users with better legal protections and clarity as well as providing for resolution in the event of a mishap.</p>
<h2>What qualifies</h2>
<p>The key legal framework in the UK is <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/618/regulation/2/made">the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (UK MDR)</a>. Once a product has been identified as a medical device under UK MDR, further classification of it takes place, ranging from low risk (stethoscopes and wheelchairs) to high risk (pacemakers, heart valves, implanted cerebral simulators).</p>
<p>If a device is designed to go inside the body, or if it contains medicinal substances, it is more likely it is treated as high risk. Depending on the risk classification, the law then imposes stringent standards to protect users from harm. These include obligations on the manufacturers and developers to ensure their devices are safe, through conducting risk impact assessments, periodic audits and other actions.</p>
<p>All matters relating to medical devices in the UK <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency">fall under the responsibility</a> of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA conducts surveillance of medical devices available in the UK and has the authority to make decisions regarding their marketing and distribution. It is also the MHRA’s duty to ensure that manufacturers and developers are complying with the regulations. </p>
<h2>Pursuit of wellness?</h2>
<p>An important question is how one distinguishes a device, digital tool or app as one used for a medical purpose – which is how the UK MDR defines a medical device – versus one that is used for general health and wellness. The latter would include, for example, meditation apps or step counters. </p>
<p>Traditionally, smart watches have been <a href="https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/wearable-technology-healthcare-medical-devices/">treated as smart, wearable technology</a>. On the face of it, they offer users insight into their general health and wellness, helping them make necessary lifestyle adjustments to improve their health or fitness goals. </p>
<p>In recent years, however, such technologies have become increasingly advanced. Tens of thousands of digital tools and applications have flooded app stores. These include monitoring apps for mental health, symptom checkers based on information entered by patient users, or medical calculators for drug dosing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="ECG" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577593/original/file-20240223-28-zkojeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577593/original/file-20240223-28-zkojeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577593/original/file-20240223-28-zkojeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577593/original/file-20240223-28-zkojeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577593/original/file-20240223-28-zkojeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577593/original/file-20240223-28-zkojeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577593/original/file-20240223-28-zkojeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electrocardiogram functions can now be incorporated into smartwatches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ekg-monitor-intra-aortic-balloon-pump-1936321450">Pitchyfoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Smartwatches may have <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208955">electrocardiogram (ECG) functions</a>. An ECG is a test used to check a person’s heart’s rhythm and electrical activity. Medical professionals have traditionally used ECGs to look for signs of coronary heart disease or other cardiovascular conditions. The same functions on a watch may not have the right sensitivity to pick up on medical conditions.</p>
<p>The latest version of the <a href="https://www.apple.com/healthcare/docs/site/Apple_Watch_Arrhythmia_Detection.pdf">Apple watch has embedded sensors</a> that may be able to <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/atrial-fibrillation/">detect atrial fibrillation</a>, a type of irregular heart rhythm. In the US, <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/06/watchos-9-delivers-new-ways-to-stay-connected-active-and-healthy/">Apple has obtained clearance</a> from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) <a href="https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpmn/pmn.cfm?ID=K213971">allowing it to be used</a> for this purpose, marking a bold move into the regulated medicine and healthcare space.</p>
<p>Biosensors, previously thought of as devices that were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4986445/">administered only in clinical settings</a> have now evolved by design into slim patches for consumer use. Take the <a href="https://nixbiosensors.com/">Nix Biosensor device</a>. When paired with Apple Watches, it is designed to measure a user’s optimal <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23582865/nix-hydration-biosensor-review-wearables-hydration">hydration level</a> in real time by identifying molecular markers in sweat and determining the loss of fluid and electrolytes (substances that maintain a balance of fluids inside and outside cells). </p>
<p>Finally, emerging trends also indicate that more and more women are relying on fertility and cycle trackers in smartwatches and sophisticated apps. However, there have been concerns that users might use the information <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/apple-watch-fertility-features-not-birth-control/">in place of actual birth control</a>.</p>
<p>Hence, as smartwatches and trackers evolve, it’s possible that they may approach the threshold for what authorities could consider a medical device.</p>
<h2>Privacy protections</h2>
<p>There’s something else to consider too. Users of devices and digital tools regularly hand over their personal data. Businesses must ensure compliance with the <a href="https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-and-the-eu/data-protection-and-the-eu-in-detail/the-uk-gdpr/">UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)</a> and the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents/enacted">Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)</a>.</p>
<p>Personal health data is a “special category of data”. This would fall under the application of Articles 6 and 9 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the DPA. This means that more stringent standards are imposed for the collection and use of such data (in its processing), including potentially an obligation to conduct an extensive data impact assessment. </p>
<p>Indeed, the UK’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) <a href="https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2024/02/ico-urges-all-app-developers-to-prioritise-privacy/">issued a statement</a> on February 8 2024 reminding all app developers to ensure they protect users’ privacy following the regulator’s review of period and fertility apps. </p>
<p>Other potential safeguards for users’ privacy could come from the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/3/contents">Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 (MMDA)</a>, from the appointment of the <a href="https://www.patientsafetycommissioner.org.uk/">Patient Safety Commissioner</a> and from the National Health Service (NHS), which can now evaluate digital tools using the <a href="https://transform.england.nhs.uk/key-tools-and-info/digital-technology-assessment-criteria-dtac/">digital technology assessment criteria (DTAC)</a>.</p>
<p>Clear guidelines in this area are not just necessary, they’re imperative. Without them, we potentially risk both stifling innovation and compromising user care.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pin Lean Lau does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Medical devices have a legal definition, but the lines might become blurred in future.Pin Lean Lau, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Bio-Law, Brunel University LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226102024-02-14T23:50:02Z2024-02-14T23:50:02ZAustralia’s shot-hole borer beetle invasion has begun, but we don’t need to chop down every tree under attack<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574604/original/file-20240209-18-7stpt1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C6183%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shotgunlike-lesions-on-tree-bark-trunk-1754480912">jgeyser, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">new pest attacking Perth’s trees</a> threatens to <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/polyphagous-shot-hole-borer">spread across Australia</a>, damaging crops and native forests as well as our urban forest. To control its spread, the Western Australian government is <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/absolutely-devastating-a-tiny-exotic-beetle-will-see-180-of-hyde-park-s-trees-cut-down-20240130-p5f16n.html">chopping down hundreds of established trees</a>. But these losses may be in vain. </p>
<p>Originally from southeast Asia, the polyphagous (meaning “many-eating”) shot-hole borer has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.18360453">invaded several countries</a>. It attacks <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-WA-Host-List.pdf">more than 400 tree species</a>, including <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-Global-Host-List.pdf">crops</a> such as apple, avocado, macadamia and mango. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.654702">Trees grown for timber</a>, such as ash, elms and oaks are not safe either. And with every new country it invades, it threatens an increasingly large number of native trees.</p>
<p>Australia plans to <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/absolutely-devastating-a-tiny-exotic-beetle-will-see-180-of-hyde-park-s-trees-cut-down-20240130-p5f16n.html">eradicate this pest using one method: felling established trees</a>. But the borer has been eradicated only once – in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02929-w">isolated tropical glasshouses in frosty Europe</a> – demonstrating the difficulty of eradication from larger agricultural and natural ecosystems.</p>
<p>To achieve this worthy but difficult goal, everyone will need to work together. We need a wide range of experts to fully evaluate all available control methods, and consider the most appropriate time frame for eradication. Understanding the impacts of both the pest and its management will ensure we get the best possible outcomes in both the short and long term.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-in-south-africa-are-under-attack-why-its-proving-hard-to-manage-130804">Trees in South Africa are under attack. Why it's proving hard to manage</a>
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<h2>The nature of the beast(s)</h2>
<p>The borer probably arrived in Australia as a stowaway with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/shot-hole-borer-attacks-hyde-park-trees/103406280">untreated wood</a> and remained undetected until August 2021, when a <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/fremantle-residents-asked-look-exotic-insect-borer">concerned resident of East Fremantle</a> noticed unusual holes in her backyard maple trees. Now <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/shot-hole-borer-attacks-hyde-park-trees/103406280">more than 80 suburbs</a> in 25 councils are affected. Fortunately, the pest has not yet been detected outside the Perth metropolitan area.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Perth and the Polyphagous shot-hole borer quarantine area" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pest borer quarantine area covers 25 local government areas in Perth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The borer attacks so many tree species because it has an accomplice, in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fgb.2013.04.004">form of a fungus</a>. The two live in a mutually dependent “symbiotic” relationship. </p>
<p>The borer creates a Swiss cheese-like matrix of tunnels through the wood. The fungus feeds on the wood lining the tunnels as it grows, and the borer eats the fungus. </p>
<p>The tunnels weaken the structure of the wood, but tree death occurs when the fungus invades and blocks the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48809-8">flow of water and sap between roots and leaves</a>.</p>
<p>The borer’s small size likely limits its natural rate of spread, however we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12321">don’t know how far it can fly</a>. There is a risk of human-assisted spread over long distances as the borer can survive in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvaa103">small pieces of wood for weeks</a>. To make matters worse, a single female borer can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12155">produce offspring without a mate</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Six development stages of the shot hole borer, arranged in a circle to show the life cycle, on a white background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The life cycle of the polyphagous shot-hole borer, also known as the Asian ambrosia beetle (<em>Euwallacea fornicatus</em>)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/development-stages-asian-ambrosia-beetle-euwallacea-513402742">Protasov AN, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Responding to the threat in Australia</h2>
<p>The threat to Australia can be estimated from the experience in other invaded locations. As in Perth, the invasion usually begins in cities, then spreads into the surrounding countryside, attacking horticulture and forests, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-012-0223-7">avocado production in Israel</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-12-0276-PDN">California</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13314-023-00524-z">stone fruit in South Africa</a>. This overseas experience has informed models of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12566">potential impacts for WA</a>.</p>
<p>But local effects are hard to predict. Figs and eucalypts not susceptible in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.654702">California and Israel</a>, yet <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-WA-Host-List.pdf">figs are preferred and some eucalypts are susceptible in WA</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/polyphagous-shot-hole-borer">national biosecurity response led by WA</a> has allocated A$41 million to eradicate the borer. This funding was based on an assessment of what it should cost. But there is only a short window of opportunity to effectively deploy these resources to achieve eradication.</p>
<p>The response includes trapping and surveillance to determine the spread of the pest. More than <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Vital-biosecurity-response-to-stop-invasive-beetle-pest-20240130">1.5 million trees on more than 50,000 properties</a> have been inspected and some 3,000 traps laid. </p>
<p>These traps catch flying beetles, which fly just once in their lives, so there’s a low catch probability. This makes it hard to detect false negatives, when no beetles are trapped but there are beetles in the area. This can be improved with alternative <a href="https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3656">trap designs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179416">chemical lures</a>.</p>
<p>When infested trees are found in WA, the response is “<a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">removing infested trees to save healthy trees</a>”. This could mean hundreds of trees at popular public locations such as <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Vital-biosecurity-response-to-stop-invasive-beetle-pest-20240130">Perth Zoo, Lake Claremont, Kings Park and Hyde Park</a> will be felled and chipped.</p>
<p>Continuing with the one control method, felling trees, will leave us with fewer trees, particularly if the eradication campaign runs for many years. Reduction of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-higher-density-city-development-leave-urban-forests-out-on-a-limb-57106">urban tree canopy</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-trees-leave-the-outer-suburbs-out-in-the-heat-33299">could be profound</a>, and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-18/perth-tree-canopy-conference/101980438">Perth already has the sparsest urban tree canopy in the nation</a>. </p>
<p>The flow-on consequences could mean even <a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-are-a-citys-air-conditioners-so-why-are-we-pulling-them-out-21890">higher urban temperatures</a> and poorer <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.603757">human</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.066">health</a>. </p>
<p>Urban trees are also valued for their beauty, shade and habitat for animals. All these benefits can be assigned a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.11.017">significant monetary value, which would be even higher</a> if intrinsic or cultural value could be included.</p>
<h2>Waging war on the shot-hole borer</h2>
<p>Although felling and chipping entire trees is necessary, there are <a href="https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74179.html">other effective control methods</a>. Alternatives may include removing and chipping <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-017-0598-6">infested branches only</a>, which may be more <a href="http://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2023.1279547">cost-effective than felling entire trees</a>, to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105136">injecting at-risk but uninfested trees</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-17-1569-RE">slowing</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy423">infestations in trees</a> or spraying <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13040656">repellents onto uninfested trees</a>. In California, traps were developed into an <a href="https://www.californiaavocadogrowers.com/sites/default/files/Trapping-Optimization-and-Development-of-attract-and-kill-strategy-for-the-Polyphagous-Shot-Hole-Borer-in-avocado.pdf">attract-and-kill strategy</a> to tackle the borer in avocado orchards.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Polyphagous shot-hole borer trap set by the OC Parks Department and the University of California, in Irvine Regional Park. The large, multi-tiered black trap with a white collection vessel at the bottom is hanging from a metal pole." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The best trap for the borer, developed in California, is not being used in Perth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/orange-california-24-feb-2017-polyphagous-1938882280">Steve Cukrov, Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>While a rapid response is crucial for eradication, we need to keep improving on this, using the most effective methods available. Relevant solutions from around the world suggest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-024-01744-7">broader community engagement</a>, beyond Perth, would be beneficial.</p>
<p>It is unclear what has been learned so far from efforts in WA. Is it still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0529-5">feasible to eradicate the pest completely</a>? We need more experts to evaluate and advise on the response as it continues.</p>
<p>Making the right response choices will be crucial. Just consider other threatening invaders such as the <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/red-imported-fire-ant">red imported</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-know-if-were-winning-the-war-on-australias-fire-ant-invasion-and-what-to-do-if-we-arent-121367">fire ant</a>, the honey bee <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/varroa-mite">varroa</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-officially-given-up-on-eradicating-the-varroa-mite-now-what-214002">mite</a>, and <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/diseases-fungi-and-parasites/myrtle-rust">myrtle</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/myrtle-rust-is-devastating-australian-forests-a-new-high-tech-spray-holds-out-hope-for-native-trees-219411">rust</a>.</p>
<p>As the borer has only been detected in Perth, the window of opportunity is open now. Let’s make sure we have the best plan of attack so we can achieve eradication. </p>
<p>Australians pride themselves on working together to get things done. If we can bring everyone together to rapidly tackle this insect invasion, the whole nation will benefit.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/citizen-scientists-collect-more-nature-data-than-ever-showing-us-where-common-and-threatened-species-live-212372">Citizen scientists collect more nature data than ever, showing us where common and threatened species live</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s a horror story unfolding in the west that could sweep across the country. Beware the shot-hole borer, an exotic pest that threatens our tree crops, plantations, urban forests and wild places.Theo Evans, Associate Professor, The University of Western AustraliaBruce Webber, Principal Research Scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225482024-02-09T16:50:30Z2024-02-09T16:50:30ZSuper Bowl: events like this are perfect for brand storytelling – unless companies get their messaging wrong<p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/Super-Bowl">Super Bowl</a> – the championship game of America’s <a href="https://www.nfl.com/">National Football League</a> (NFL) – stands as one of the most lucrative annual showcases for big brands. With <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/216526/super-bowl-us-tv-viewership/#:%7E:text=The%202023%20edition%20of%20the,the%20U.S.%20Second%20most%20watched">115m viewers</a> watching the game last year in the US, 30-second ad spots go for a reported <a href="https://www.brandvm.com/post/super-bowl-2024-marketing#:%7E:text=The%2520highly%2520coveted%252030%252Dsecond,enthusiastic%2520about%2520the%2520Super%2520Bowl.">$7m</a> (£5.5m). These days, “Super Bowl ads” are highly anticipated in terms of creative, memorable storytelling that hits home.</p>
<p>For major corporations, getting the creative and messaging right is essential. Successful ads leverage the massive platform not just to grab eyeballs, but to reinforce brand values through authentic, engaging stories.</p>
<p>Goals range from sparking viral conversations to initiating loyal customer relationships to unveiling innovative offerings. Looking back, all-time great Super Bowl ads like Jeep’s iconic 2020 <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/216526/super-bowl-us-tv-viewership/#:%7E:text=The%202023%20edition%20of%20the,the%20U.S.%20Second%20most%20watched">Groundhog Day remake with Bill Murray</a>, cleverly appealed to audiences’ nostalgia while also pivoting towards the brand’s eco-friendly direction.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/03/15/how-and-why-to-build-brand-authenticity/?sh=7a35bac455b5">Brand authenticity</a> has become ever more important in our digitally connected world. Recent uproar involving brands like Peloton, whose <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/dec/04/peloton-backlash-sexist-dystopian-exercise-bike-christmas-advert">much-derided Christmas ad</a> appeared to show a husband gift his very thin, nervy wife an exercise bike for which, a year later, she thanks him profusely for “changing her life”. </p>
<p>Media-literate audiences are adept at sensing falsehoods and can become cynical, diminishing brand trust and <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EUM0000000006475/full/html">affecting loyalty</a>. </p>
<p>But it’s not just consumers; once employees lose trust, this can further damage the brand. Our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13162-018-0110-6">research</a> showed that employees who believe in the brand will go out of their way to do good. So when brands appear to “bang the social justice drum” publicly, but employees experience a lack of equality on the inside, this can lead to distrust.</p>
<p>This was the case with Wholefoods which, while telling the world they cared about black voices, was <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/07/woke-washing-your-company-wont-cut-it">accused of ignoring those very voices</a> among their own employees. </p>
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<h2>When brands don’t read the room</h2>
<p>Consumers prefer brands whose <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296321009462?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=84eacf091a6476ed">values align with their own</a>. Reducing environmental harm and standing up for social issues are two <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/people-prefer-brands-with-aligned-corporate-purpose-and-values/">examples of consumer expectations</a> of favoured brands, some of which may be tempted to jump on the bandwagon.</p>
<p>The widespread scorn over Kendall Jenner’s farcical <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/business/kendall-jenner-pepsi-ad.html">Pepsi ad</a> – which not only downplayed violence against black people but also glamourised it – should have been a salutary lesson for the sector.</p>
<p>But soon after, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/charlesrtaylor/2019/01/15/why-gillettes-new-ad-campaign-is-toxic/?sh=6847bf725bc9">Gillette</a>, in its attempt to play the social activist card, launched its “is this the best a man can get?” campaign. In a dramatic two-minute ad, aspects of toxic masculinity, including bullying, sexism and sexual harassment post-#MeToo were addressed.</p>
<p>This fuelled anger amongst consumers sceptical of the brand’s motives. Others felt the ad was suggesting the majority of men engage in toxic behaviours, leading to significant backlash across social media, with pundits claiming offence at stereotyping and perceived virtue signalling.</p>
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<p>In April 2023, <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/06/07/brands-caught-up-iculture-wars-retail-customers-internet-richard-torrenzano/">Budweiser</a> turned the adage “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” on its head. Sales of Bud Light <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/14/bud-light-loses-top-us-beer-spot-after-promotion-with-transgender-influencer">plunged 25%</a> in response to its promotion featuring transgender influencer/actress Dylan Mulvaney. This led to a boycott by angry conservative consumers accusing the brand of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66398296">going “woke”</a>.</p>
<p>Before the boycott, Bud Light marketing director Alissa Heinerscheid <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/bud-light-boycott.html#:%7E:text=Before%20the%20boycott%2C%20Alissa%20Heinerscheid,for%20a%20really%20long%20time.">said in an interview</a> that the brand was in decline and needed to be more inclusive. After the backlash, CEO Brendan Whitworth <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85zvTMFv9Ck">said</a>: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people – we’re in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” </p>
<p>When brands fail to align their behaviours with their espoused values, this can wreak havoc with a brand’s reputation. The consumer base ends up feeling alienated by the brand’s perceived hypocrisy and inauthenticity.</p>
<h2>Evolving narratives</h2>
<p>As the 2024 Super Bowl LVIII approaches, brands want to make sure they don’t go down as yet another big corporation chasing social causes to look good. Rather than disingenuously espousing values, or grasping at emotional connections without context, brands should use the power of <a href="https://hbr.org/podcast/2022/02/the-positives-and-perils-of-storytelling">storytelling</a> to convince viewers of their underlying purpose in a way that connects to their lives.</p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-63614-2_6#:%7E:text=Although%2520transportation%2520is%2520distinct%2520from,or%2520actions%2520of%2520such%2520characters.">Research shows</a> that storytelling increases reader identification with characters, shifts attitudes and beliefs and creates more lasting memorability than straightforward delivery of information. Unlike explicit messaging which can feel inauthentic, getting lost in a story can inspire emotions and shape beliefs in a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ct/article-abstract/14/4/311/4110790?redirectedFrom=PDF&casa_token=nueJDJ37xvEAAAAA:YDFDq8Dfqsr7BUGQ__E-dKX8NGQ7Sdz8Rd6uqu_aKNLEQloAHaklVqO0KIDccJqfE_0O5veQCsKwiQ">subtle, organic way</a>.</p>
<p>Look at <a href="https://youtu.be/2zfqw8nhUwA?si=rB1CVqNaIG5vZFwv">Apple’s 1984 commercial</a> introducing the Macintosh – it didn’t talk about the actual product, but rather created a hero narrative against conformity and totalitarianism. Or Coca-Cola’s famous 1971 “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” ad that united people at a time when America was <a href="https://www.historyoasis.com/post/things-go-better-with-coke">experiencing a dark period</a> during the Vietnam War. These are the storytelling ads that resonate rather than force-feed a supposed values-based message.</p>
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<h2>Digital immersive storytelling</h2>
<p>In our <a href="https://dosrhul.org/2024/01/26/meeting-net-zero-zero-sum-or-win-win-for-smes-a-novel-approach-to-marketing-a-brands-purpose-through-immersive-digital-storytelling/">research</a>, we go further. We propose using immersive digital storytelling techniques for brands to craft and validate the authenticity of their messaging. </p>
<p>Interactive digital media enables more participatory story experiences between brands and audiences. Working with a company to showcase their sustainability efforts, we created an immersive storytelling experience using extended reality technology. In this case, the founder of the company takes the audience on a walk through a forest purchased to help offset the operation’s carbon emissions.</p>
<p>This visceral storytelling immerses the viewers via a VR headset in the experience, emotionally engaging consumers with a positive real-life story, thus <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60248830">avoiding the allegations of greenwashing</a> that plague major brands like Google and Amazon.</p>
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<p>By showing rather than telling, this gives consumers a deeply authentic experience of the brand’s causes. They can see for themselves what the company is doing as opposed to being fed messages from traditional advertising.</p>
<p>Rather than indulging in virtue signalling to distinguish themselves, brands may find greater resonance in adopting more immersive and transparent approaches to connect their mission with real-world impact. Such strategies may prove more effective than preachy commercials that lack authenticity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222548/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Preachy commercials do not go down well when big brands are suspected of disingenuous motives and virtue signalling.Lucy Gill-Simmen, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, School of Business and Management Marketing, Royal Holloway University of LondonLing Xiao, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219102024-01-29T19:05:11Z2024-01-29T19:05:11ZEditing memories, spying on our bodies, normalising weird goggles: Apple’s new Vision Pro has big ambitions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571783/original/file-20240128-25-8hsbjk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C3%2C2541%2C1425&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Apple</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset – which the company hopes is a “<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/01/apple-vision-pro-available-in-the-us-on-february-2/">revolutionary spatial computer</a> that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment” – that begins shipping to the public (in the United States) later this week. </p>
<p>Critics have <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/apple-vision-pro-doomed/">doubted the appeal</a> of the face-worn computer, which “seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world”, but Apple has pre-sold <a href="https://www.engadget.com/apple-might-have-sold-up-to-180000-vision-pro-headsets-over-pre-order-weekend-081727344.html">as many as 180,000</a> of the US$3,500 gizmos.</p>
<p>What does Apple think people will do with these pricey peripherals? While uses will evolve, Apple is focusing attention on watching TV and movies, editing and reliving “memories”, and – perhaps most importantly for the product’s success – having its customers not look like total weirdos.</p>
<p>Apple hopes the new device will redefine personal computing, like the iPhone did 16 years ago, and Macintosh did 40 years ago. But if it succeeds, it will also redefine concerns about privacy, as it captures enormous amounts of data about users and their environments, creating an unprecedented kind of “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354856521989514">biospatial surveillance</a>”.</p>
<h2>Spatial computing</h2>
<p>Apple is careful about its brand and how it packages and describes its products. In an extensive set of <a href="https://developer.apple.com/visionos/submit/#:%7E:text=Don%27t%20refer%20to%20Apple,first%20word%20in%20a%20sentence.">rules for developers</a>, the company insists the new headset is not to be referred to as a “headset”. What’s more, the Apple Vision Pro does not do “augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), or mixed reality (MR)” – it is a gateway to “spatial computing”.</p>
<p>Spatial computing, as sketched out in the <a href="https://acg.media.mit.edu/people/simong/thesis/SpatialComputing.pdf">2003 PhD thesis</a> of US software engineer Simon Greenwold, is: “human interaction with a machine in which the machine retains and manipulates referents to real objects and spaces”. In other words, the computer can interact with things in the user’s physical surroundings in real time to provide new types of experiences.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A CGI dinosaur stands on a rocky field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571805/original/file-20240129-25-4y9k16.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Vision Pro comes with an app that lets users get up close and personal with dinosaurs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2024/01/apple-tv-unveils-groundbreaking-immersive-originals-from-todays-biggest-storytellers-set-to-debut-on-apple-vision-pro/">Apple</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Vision Pro has big shoes to fill for new user experiences. The iPhone’s initial “killer apps” were <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/183052/liveupdate-15.html">clear</a>: the internet in your pocket (including portable access to Google Maps), all your music on a touch screen, and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3j03bOOBwY">visual voicemail</a>”. </p>
<p>Sixteen years later, all three of these seem unremarkable. Apple has sold billions of iPhones, and some <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/">80% of humans</a> now use a smartphone. Their success has all but killed off earlier tools like paper maps and music CDs (and the ubiquity of text, image and video messaging has largely done away with voicemail itself).</p>
<h2>Killer apps</h2>
<p>We don’t yet know what the killer apps of spatial computing might be – if any – but here is where Apple is pointing our attention.</p>
<p>The first is entertainment: the Vision Pro promises “<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/01/apple-previews-new-entertainment-experiences-launching-with-apple-vision-pro/">the ultimate personal theatre</a>”.</p>
<p>The second is an attempt to solve the social problem of walking around with a weird headset covering half your face. An external screen on the goggles shows a constantly updated representation of your eyes to <a href="https://cavrn.org/the-identity-emotion-and-gaze-behind-apples-vision-pro/">offer important social cues about your gaze</a> to those around you. Admittedly, this looks weird. But Apple hopes it is less weird and more useful than trying to interact with humans wearing blank aluminium ski goggles.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man sitting on a couch wearing a headset while an image of children playing floats in the air in front of him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571806/original/file-20240129-27-kmnd7y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reliving ‘memories’ with the Apple Vision Pro.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/">Apple</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The third is the ability to capture and and relive “memories”: recording and playback of 3D visual and audio from real events. Reviewers have found it striking: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>this was <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/i-saw-my-iphone-spatial-movies-in-apple-vision-pro/">stuff from my own life</a>, my own memories. I was playing back experiences I had already lived.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Apple has <a href="https://www.patentlyapple.com/2023/10/a-new-vision-pro-patent-describes-its-3d-camera-allowing-users-to-relive-memories-add-notes-commentary-about-that-moment.html">patented</a> tools to select, store, and annotate digital “memories”. These memories are files, and potentially products, to be shared in “spatial videos” <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/newsroom/2023/12/apple-introduces-spatial-video-capture-on-iphone-15-pro/">recorded on the latest iPhones</a>. </p>
<h2>Biospatial surveillance</h2>
<p>There is already a large infrastructure devoted to helping tech companies track our behaviour in order to sell us things. Recent <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/privacy/each-facebook-user-is-monitored-by-thousands-of-companies-a5824207467/">research</a> found Facebook, for example, receives data from an average of around 2,300 companies on each individual user. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-surveillance-capitalism-and-how-does-it-shape-our-economy-119158">Explainer: what is surveillance capitalism and how does it shape our economy?</a>
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<p>Spatial computing offers a step change to this tracking. In order to function, spatial computing records and uses vast amounts of intimate data about our bodies and surroundings. </p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/kentbye/towards-a-framework-for-xr-ethics-kent-bye-awe-november-11-2021">study on headset design</a> noted no fewer than 64 different streams of biometric and physiological data, from eye tracking and pupil response to subtle changes in the body’s electromagnetic field. </p>
<h2>Your face tomorrow</h2>
<p>This is not “consumer” data like the brand of toothpaste you buy. It is more akin to medical data. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="http://www.mkhamis.com/data/papers/abraham2022nordichi.pdf">analysing a person’s unconscious movements</a> can reveal their emotional state or even predict neurodegenerative disease. This is called “<a href="https://xrsi.org/definition/biometrically-inferred-data-bid">biometrically inferred data</a>” as users are unaware their bodies are giving it up.</p>
<p>Apple suggests it won’t share this type of data with anyone, and Apple has proven better than most companies on privacy. But biospatial surveillance puts more of ourselves in use for spatial computing, in ways that are expanding.</p>
<p>It starts simply enough in the pre-order process, where you need to scan your facial features with your iPhone (to ensure a snug fit). But that’s not the end of it.</p>
<p>Apple’s <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2023196257A1/en?oq=WO2023196257">patent about memories</a> is also about how to “guide and direct a user with attention, memory, and cognition” through feedback loops that monitor “facial recognition, eye tracking, user mood detection, user emotion detection, voice detection, etc. [from a] bio-sensor for tracking biometric characteristics, such as health and activity metrics […] and other health-related information”. </p>
<h2>Social questions</h2>
<p>Biospatial surveillance is also the key to Apple’s attempt to solve the social problems created by wearing a headset in public. The external screen showing a simulated approximation of the user’s gaze relies on constant measurement of the user’s expression and eye movement with multiple sensors.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man wearing goggles with a screen that shows his eyess" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571865/original/file-20240129-21-5qnrow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An external screen shows a representation of the user’s eyes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://youtu.be/IY4x85zqoJM?feature=shared&t=57">Apple</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Your face is constantly mapped so others can see it – or rather see Apple’s vision of it. Likewise, as passersby come into range of the Apple Vision Pro’s sensors, Apple’s vision of them is automagically rendered into your experience, whether they like it or not. </p>
<p>Apple’s new vision of us – and those that surround us – shows how the requirements and benefits of spatial computing will pose new privacy concerns and social questions. The extensive biospatial surveillance that captures intimate biometric and environmental data redefines what personal data and social interactions are possible for exploitation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Heemsbergen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apple’s plan for ‘spatial computing’ may redefine personal computing – and also facilitate trouble new kinds of surveillance.Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2215012024-01-23T18:59:47Z2024-01-23T18:59:47ZWhy are Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta facing antitrust lawsuits and huge fines? And will it protect consumers?<p>Following a lengthy investigation, the United States Justice Department is set to file a lawsuit against Apple for <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-17/justice-department-to-file-apple-antitrust-case-as-soon-as-march">potentially breaching antitrust laws</a>.</p>
<p>The department alleges Apple is using hardware and software limitations that make it harder for rival companies to compete with iPhones and iPads. </p>
<p>If the filing goes ahead, it will mean each of the “big four” tech companies – Amazon, Meta, Google and Apple – will have been sued by the US federal government within the past five years for monopolistic business practices. </p>
<p>As the digital market continues to grow, many countries including the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, the US, China, South Korea, India and Australia have all either introduced, or plan to introduce, competition legislation <a href="https://iccwbo.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/09/2023-ICC-Global-report-on-competition-enforcement-in-the-digital-economy-1.pdf">specific to tech firms</a>. </p>
<p>But what are antitrust laws? And how are the tech giants breaching them?</p>
<h2>What are antitrust laws?</h2>
<p>Antitrust laws originated with the US <a href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3112&context=dlj">Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890</a>. This law banned business arrangements which restrained trade, and <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/catoj9&id=743&men_tab=srchresults">prohibited attempts to monopolise</a>.</p>
<p>Over time, the Sherman Antitrust Act evolved into what are today’s antitrust laws, adopted in countries all over the world. </p>
<p>Antitrust laws are <a href="https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2977&context=faculty_scholarship">enforced at domestic levels</a> and allegations of breaches of these laws pertain to domestic markets. These laws – also known as competition laws – prohibit business practices that promote unfair monopolies, stifle competition and reinforce dominance or power. </p>
<p>In recent years, technology products – whether apps or physical products like phones and computers – have been under an enormous amount of scrutiny. Calls for regulating the development and use of technology have a <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/222945-ai-regulation-its-time-to-act-australia/">dominant focus on artificial intelligence</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the business practices of tech giants are garnering less public attention. So it’s noteworthy that the antitrust lawsuits filed against the big four focus on the companies, not just their products. </p>
<p>The allegation is these companies are concentrating the market and therefore charging higher markups for their goods and services, while having less incentive to innovate <a href="https://www.publicaccountant.com.au/features/a-lack-of-competition-is-hurting-consumers-and-the-economy-2">in ways that benefit consumers</a>.</p>
<h2>How are tech giants breaching antitrust laws?</h2>
<p>Of the big four, Apple is not the first to be accused of breaching antitrust laws.</p>
<p>In the past decade, the European Union has fined Google <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-last-ditch-effort-overturn-26-bln-eu-antitrust-fine-2023-09-19/">a total of €8.25 billion</a> (A$13.6 billion) for three separate breaches of EU’s antitrust laws.</p>
<p>These related to misuse of Google Shopping to disadvantage competitors <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/es/MEMO_17_1785">in 2017</a>, unfair dominance of the Android operating system market <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_4581">in 2018</a>, and abusive practices in online advertising <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_19_1770">in 2019</a>. The advertising business accounts for <a href="https://theconversation.com/ais-threat-to-google-is-more-about-advertising-income-than-being-the-number-one-search-engine-200094">80% of Google’s income</a>.</p>
<p>While Google and its parent company Alphabet did enact some changes to their practices following these EU rulings, to date Google <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/google-pay-multibillion-fine-antitrust-shopping-case-eu-106286458">has not paid</a> these fines and continues <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-last-ditch-effort-overturn-26-bln-eu-antitrust-fine-2023-09-19/">to appeal them</a> in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/14/eu-court-backs-antitrust-ruling-against-google-but-reduces-fine.html">various instances</a>.</p>
<p>In 2020, the US Justice Department also filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google for monopolising multiple <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-google-monopolizing-digital-advertising-technologies">digital advertising technology products</a>.</p>
<p>The ongoing lawsuit claims Google monopolised the “ad tech stack” – the key technologies publishers and advertisers use to sell and buy ads. It is alleged Google neutralised or eliminated ad tech competitors through acquisitions, which forced publishers and advertisers to use its products. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-taking-on-google-in-a-huge-antitrust-case-it-could-change-the-face-of-online-search-148519">The US is taking on Google in a huge antitrust case. It could change the face of online search</a>
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<p>In 2021, the US Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 US states sued Meta, claiming the tech company eliminated competition by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/technology/facebook-antitrust-monopoly.html">buying up its rivals</a>. </p>
<p>The two biggest purchases under scrutiny are Instagram, which was purchased for US$1 billion in 2013, and WhatsApp, which was purchased for US$19 billion in 2015. The lawsuit alleges these purchases eliminated competition which had the potential to challenge Meta’s dominance. </p>
<p>In 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon, claiming the tech company used anticompetitive and unfair strategies to maintain a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-sues-amazon-illegally-maintaining-monopoly-power">position of dominance in the market</a>.</p>
<p>The US lawsuits against <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/11/23864514/google-search-antitrust-trial">Google</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/24/instagram-lawsuit-meta-sued-teen-mental-health-us">Meta</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/26/amazon-antitrust-lawsuit-ftc/">Amazon</a> are ongoing, with no decisions handed down as yet. </p>
<h2>What is Australia doing to protect consumers?</h2>
<p>The Australian federal government has also been investigating global tech giants. Since 2021, the government has investigated legislative methods <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/30/what-is-the-australian-government-doing-to-crack-down-on-big-tech-and-why">for protecting Australian consumers</a>.</p>
<p>One example is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) news media bargaining code. The code requires digital platforms operating in Australia to <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/by-industry/digital-platforms-and-services/news-media-bargaining-code/news-media-bargaining-code">compensate domestic news publishers</a> for the use of their content. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-2021-was-the-year-governments-really-started-to-wise-up-against-big-tech-172871">How 2021 was the year governments really started to wise up against big tech</a>
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<p>Despite these advancements, Chandni Gupta, Deputy CEO and Digital Policy Director at the Consumer Policy Research Centre, <a href="https://lsj.com.au/articles/what-the-us-federal-trade-commission-v-amazon-case-means-for-australia/">points out</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are gaps in both Australia’s privacy laws and the consumer law, which can leave Australians with far fewer protections online than consumers in the US and other countries.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The ACCC released its second Digital Platform Services Inquiry <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/about-us/publications/serial-publications/digital-platform-services-inquiry-2020-2025/digital-platform-services-inquiry-march-2021-interim-report">interim report in 2021</a>. The report’s findings indicate Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store have significant market power in the distribution of mobile apps in Australia, and measures are <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/dominance-of-apple-and-googles-app-stores-impacting-competition-and-consumers">needed to address this</a>. Examples of measures the ACCC proposed include increasing transparency and providing greater choice of default apps for consumers.</p>
<p>In 2023, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb publicly addressed <a href="https://thewest.com.au/technology/gina-cass-gottlieb-goes-after-apple-microsoft-amazon-google-and-meta-in-call-for-competition-law-fix-c-12231673">the dangers of the big four</a>. The commissioner referred to the tech giants as “serial acquirers” and raised concerns about their measures for extending and protecting their market power. </p>
<p>Antitrust laws exist to maintain fair competition among businesses. Breaches of these laws mean companies are influencing the market to the detriment of other, usually smaller companies.</p>
<p>If governments are successful in holding tech giants to account, this could drastically redefine the tech market, making way for more equitable competition and more ethical business practices.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zena Assaad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Governments around the world keep filing antitrust lawsuits against the ‘big four’ tech companies. Here’s why that matters for everyone who uses their products.Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205352024-01-19T13:42:02Z2024-01-19T13:42:02ZMac at 40: User experience was the innovation that launched a technology revolution<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569686/original/file-20240116-19-t76qy0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1159%2C877&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The original Macintosh computer may seem quaint today, but the way users interacted with it triggered a revolution 40 years ago.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/markgregory/35604028241"> Mark Mathosian/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Technology innovation requires solving hard technical problems, right? Well, yes. And no. As the Apple Macintosh turns 40, what began as Apple prioritizing the squishy concept of “user experience” in its 1984 flagship product is, today, clearly vindicated by its blockbuster products since.</p>
<p>It turns out that designing for usability, efficiency, accessibility, elegance and delight pays off. Apple’s market capitalization is now over US$2.8 trillion, and its brand is every bit associated with the term “design” as the best New York or Milan fashion houses are. Apple turned technology into fashion, and it did it through user experience.</p>
<p>It began with the Macintosh.</p>
<p>When Apple announced the Macintosh personal computer with a Super Bowl XVIII <a href="https://invention.si.edu/remembering-apple-s-1984-super-bowl-ad">television ad</a> on Jan. 22, 1984, it more resembled a movie premiere than a technology release. The commercial was, in fact, directed by filmmaker Ridley Scott. That’s because founder Steve Jobs knew he was not selling just computing power, storage or a desktop publishing solution. Rather, Jobs was selling a product for human beings to use, one to be taken into their homes and integrated into their lives.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Apple’s 1984 Super Bowl commercial is as iconic as the product it introduced.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This was not about computing anymore. IBM, Commodore and Tandy did computers. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=TmZ3howAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">human-computer interaction scholar</a>, I believe that the first Macintosh was about humans feeling comfortable with a new extension of themselves, not as computer hobbyists but as everyday people. All that “computer stuff” – circuits and wires and separate motherboards and monitors – were neatly packaged and hidden away within one sleek integrated box.</p>
<p>You weren’t supposed to dig into that box, and you didn’t need to dig into that box – not with the Macintosh. The everyday user wouldn’t think about the contents of that box any more than they thought about the stitching in their clothes. Instead, they would focus on how that box <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2010.04.002">made them feel</a>.</p>
<h2>Beyond the mouse and desktop metaphor</h2>
<p>As computers go, was the Macintosh innovative? Sure. But not for any particular computing breakthrough. The Macintosh was not the first computer to have a graphical user interface or employ the desktop metaphor: icons, files, folders, windows and so on. The Macintosh was not the first personal computer meant for home, office or educational use. It was not the first computer to use a mouse. It was not even the first computer from Apple to be or have any of these things. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/242388.242405">Apple Lisa</a>, released a year before, had them all.</p>
<p>It was not any one technical thing that the Macintosh did first. But the Macintosh brought together numerous advances that were about giving people an accessory – not for geeks or techno-hobbyists, but for home office moms and soccer dads and eighth grade students who used it to write documents, edit spreadsheets, make drawings and play games. The Macintosh revolutionized the personal computing industry and everything that was to follow because of its emphasis on providing a satisfying, simplified user experience.</p>
<p>Where computers typically had complex input sequences in the form of typed commands (Unix, MS-DOS) or multibutton mice (Xerox STAR, Commodore 64), the Macintosh used a <a href="https://everest-pipkin.com/writing/beautiful_house.pdf">desktop metaphor</a> in which the computer screen presented a representation of a physical desk surface. Users could click directly on files and folders on the desktop to open them. It also had a one-button mouse that allowed users to click, double-click and drag-and-drop icons without typing commands.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/xerox-alto">Xerox Alto</a> had first exhibited the concept of icons, invented in David Canfield Smith’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-5744-4">1975 Ph.D. dissertation</a>. The 1981 <a href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=66893.66894">Xerox Star</a> and 1983 Apple Lisa had used desktop metaphors. But these systems had been slow to operate and still cumbersome in many aspects of their interaction design.</p>
<p>The Macintosh simplified the interaction techniques required to operate a computer and improved functioning to reasonable speeds. Complex keyboard commands and dedicated keys were replaced with point-and-click operations, pull-down menus, draggable windows and icons, and systemwide undo, cut, copy and paste. Unlike with the Lisa, the Macintosh could run only one program at a time, but this simplified the user experience.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh on Jan. 24, 1984.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The Macintosh also provided a user interface toolbox for application developers, enabling applications to have a standard look and feel by using common interface widgets such as buttons, menus, fonts, dialog boxes and windows. With the Macintosh, the learning curve for users was flattened, allowing people to feel proficient in short order. Computing, like clothing, was now for everyone.</p>
<h2>A good experience</h2>
<p>Although I hesitate to use the cliches “natural” or “intuitive” when it comes to fabricated worlds on a screen – nobody is born knowing what a desktop window, pull-down menu or double-click is – the Macintosh was the first personal computer to make user experience the driver of technical achievement. It indeed was <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/303">simple to operate</a>, especially compared with command-line computers at the time.</p>
<p>Whereas prior systems prioritized technical capability, the Macintosh was intended for nonspecialist users – at work, school or in the home – to experience a kind of out-of-the-box usability that today is the hallmark of not only most Apple products but an entire industry’s worth of consumer electronics, smart devices and computers of every kind.</p>
<p>According to Market Growth Reports, companies devoted to providing user experience tools and services <a href="https://www.marketgrowthreports.com/global-user-experience-ux-market-26446759">were worth $548.91 million in 2023</a> and are expected to reach $1.36 billion by 2029. User experience companies provide software and services to support usability testing, user research, <a href="https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/customer-voice/what-is-the-voice-of-customer/">voice-of-the-customer</a> initiatives and user interface design, among many other user experience activities.</p>
<p>Rarely today do consumer products succeed in the market based on functionality alone. Consumers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1948-7169.2006.tb00027.x">expect a good user experience and will pay a premium for it</a>. The Macintosh <a href="https://biztechmagazine.com/article/2019/01/original-apple-macintosh-revolutionized-personal-computing">started that obsession</a> and demonstrated its centrality. </p>
<p>It is ironic that the Macintosh technology being commemorated in January 2024 was never really about technology at all. It was always about people. This is inspiration for those looking to make the next technology breakthrough, and a warning to those who would dismiss the user experience as only of secondary concern in technological innovation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220535/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I have had two Ph.D. students receive Apple Ph.D. AI/ML Fellowships. This funding does not support me personally, but supports two of the Ph.D. students that I have advised. They obtained these fellowships through competitive submissions to Apple based on an open solicitation.</span></em></p>Apple’s phenomenal success and the field of user experience design can be traced back to the launch of the Macintosh personal computer.Jacob O. Wobbrock, Professor of Information, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2186752023-12-22T15:47:35Z2023-12-22T15:47:35ZApple, Tesla and Nvidia were among 2023’s ‘magnificent seven’ stocks – here’s what to expect from them all in 2024<p>In the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven, a group of seven gunfighters protect a village from bandits. Only three survive to ride out of town at the end of the movie. The odds look much better for the seven tech companies recently dubbed the magnificent seven after dominating US stock markets in 2023. But there are problems that could ambush some of these companies in 2024. </p>
<p>Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and Nvidia have driven a rally in US stocks in 2023. They now make up nearly a third of the S&P 500 measure of the largest listed US companies, which has risen <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/are-the-magnificent-seven-stocks-too-risky-for-you-consider-this-fund">more than 20%</a> since January. These tech stocks had provided shareholders with <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/2024-us-equity-outlook-all-you-had-to-do-was-stay/report.pdf">a whopping 71% return</a> by mid-November while the other 493 names added just 6%.</p>
<p>This impressive performance led Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett to name these companies the magnificent seven earlier this year. Goldman Sachs soon followed, calling their massive outperformance the <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/2024-us-equity-outlook-all-you-had-to-do-was-stay.html">“defining feature”</a> of the equity market in 2023.</p>
<p>But as dramatic as this performance has been – and although they’re all essentially tech companies – don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re all the same. In fact, the outlook for the magnificent seven next year is mixed, particularly in light of expected changes in their core markets.</p>
<h2>Rising competition in the EV market</h2>
<p>Let’s start with the bad news first. Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla Motors will continue to lose market share in 2024. While chief executive Elon Musk has been dealing with <a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-disney-and-other-big-brands-are-pulling-x-ads-why-elon-musks-latest-firestorm-could-bring-down-the-company-218961">advertising problems</a> on X (formerly Twitter), one of his other businesses, over the first three quarters of this year, Tesla has seen its US market <a href="https://www.automotivedive.com/news/bmw-mercedes-benz-ev-sales-jump-q3-tesla-loses-market-share/696406/">dominance shrink</a> from 62% to just over 50% of the market. Both BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Cars have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-electric-vehicle-sales-hit-record-high-tesla-loses-market-share-report-2023-10-12/#:%7E:text=Tesla%20now%20dominates%20just%20half,in%20the%20competitive%20EV%20arena">expanded their footprints</a>. </p>
<p>And over the next few years, the growing global heft of Chinese manufacturers looks hard to beat. Chinese EV players such as BYD, Nio, Wuling and Xpeng produced almost <a href="https://thechinaproject.com/2023/05/18/chinas-top-15-electric-vehicle-companies/">60% of the world’s EVs</a> in 2022 – and they have been doing so in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2023/10/29/chinas-ev-threat-sharpens-as-us-and-europe-stumble/?sh=3a7bde807dd3">a very affordable manner</a>. In the first half of 2023, the average cost of an EV in China was US$33,000 (£26,040), more than half the US$70,700 (£55,800) people pay for EVs in Europe and the US$72,000 (£56,800) paid in the US.</p>
<p>US president Joe Biden has proposed strict new car pollution controls that will require almost <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-proposes-strongest-ever-pollution-standards-cars-and">two-thirds of new cars</a> sold in the US to be electric by 2032. But the cost of EVs will need to come down if they are to achieve mass market appeal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A grey Tesla model S driving on the road with the sun setting in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Tesla Model S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/houston-texas-usa-november-22nd-2019-1567944361">canadianPhotographer56/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sunny outlook for cloud computing</h2>
<p>Magnificent seven members Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet make up <a href="https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/cloud-infrastructure-services-market-1599">two-thirds</a> of the cloud computing market, which will continue to grow in 2024, although perhaps not quite as much as in the past. </p>
<p>Still, the market for cloud infrastructure services is expected to expand from US$122 billion in 2023 to US$446 billion by 2032. In particular, concerns about the macroeconomic environment have seen some customers focus on using the cloud more <a href="https://www.crayon.com/resources/insights/unlocking-cloud-cost-optimization-strategies-real-world-savings-and-provider-specific-tactics/">to reduce costs</a> in recent years, although this has yet to have any meaningful impact on revenues.</p>
<p>And for Amazon in particular, there are some niggling questions around its outlook. Although its cloud business remains solid, its original e-commerce business has seen growing competition recently, notably from rival retail giant Walmart, which is <a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/03/09/walmart-chips-away-at-amazons-lead-in-a-key-area-wealthy-online-shoppers/#:%7E:text=U.S.%20shoppers%20will%20spend%20%24431,of%20Amazon%27s%20estimated%2037.6%25%20share.">eating into its business</a> in the US.</p>
<p>This is one reason why holding Amazon shares provided an annual return over the past two years of -16.7%, as of early December, according to my calculations.</p>
<h2>Unstoppable AI</h2>
<p>Also linked to the cloud computing industry, California-based chip maker Nvidia Corporation has been the runaway success of the magnificent seven this year. This is all thanks to its dominance in processing AI workloads on the cloud. The majority of cloud players use Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs). </p>
<p>But while its two-year return of 43.3% is the most impressive of the seven tech companies, there are competitors on the horizon that could nibble away at some market share.</p>
<p>Nvidia’s nearest rival AMD drew attention with its <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fa0c97af-c20f-461e-96c9-f2357496c599">latest chip offering</a> in 2023 – it’s betting the market will be worth <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/amd-forecasts-45-billion-ai-chip-market-this-year-2023-12-06/">US$400 billion by 2027</a>. A number of other start-ups are also developing chips for niche AI fields.</p>
<p>Can Nvidia maintain its dominance? If it does, its earnings will skyrocket
alongside the growth of AI. But even if it loses some market share, the AI market will boom for years.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Jen-Hsun Huan, NVIDIA's founder, president and CEO, talking about the chipmaker." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jen-Hsun Huan, NVIDIA’s founder, president and CEO.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/jenhsun-huan-nvidias-founder-president-ceo-2309655129">jamesonwu1972/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The outliers</h2>
<p>For those keeping track, that just leaves two final members of the magnificent seven. </p>
<p>Apple Inc – the world’s largest company by market capitalisation – consistently delivers solid returns: 16.2% over the past two years by my calculations. At the other end of the scale, social media company Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp) is the only one of the group to have shown an essentially flat stock market performance over the past two years.</p>
<p>Although Meta’s revenues and earnings have consistently beaten expectations this year, the threat of <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/19/23800545/khan-ftc-doj-justice-antitrust-guidelines-meta-amazon">anti-trust legislation</a> in the US and Europe hangs over the company, as does an advertising market that is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a99cc93a-0fa0-4c12-a885-d7507692befa">bottoming out</a>. Both of these issues could harm Meta’s revenue outlook next year.</p>
<p>So, the magnificent seven have all survived to ride out of town at the end of 2023, but it’s as clear as a tumbleweed rolling down a deserted main street that not all of them are in for a leisurely horseback ride through 2024. Saddle up, partners!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karl Schmedders does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and Nvidia have driven a bull market rally in US stocks in 2023. But will they dominate in 2024?Karl Schmedders, Professor of Finance, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146302023-10-10T12:38:20Z2023-10-10T12:38:20ZExxon, Apple and other corporate giants will have to disclose all their emissions under California’s new climate laws – that will have a global impact<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552856/original/file-20231009-27-tfp69u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C15%2C3489%2C2310&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Marathon Petroleum Corporation's Los Angeles refinery, California's largest producer of gasoline.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-shows-marathon-petroleum-corps-los-angeles-news-photo/1210662767"> David McNew/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/novas-leis-climaticas-da-california-obrigarao-exxon-apple-e-outras-gigantes-a-declararem-suas-emissoes-de-gases-de-efeito-estufa-impacto-pode-ser-global-216712">Leia em português</a>.</em></p>
<p>Many of the world’s largest public and private companies will soon be required to track and report almost all of their greenhouse gas emissions if they do business in California – including emissions from their supply chains, business travel, employees’ commutes and the way customers use their products.</p>
<p>That means oil and gas companies like Chevron will likely have to account for emissions from vehicles that use their gasoline, and Apple will have to account for materials that go into iPhones.</p>
<p>It’s a huge leap from <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting">current federal</a> and <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/mandatory-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reporting">state reporting requirements</a>, which require reporting of only certain emissions from companies’ direct operations. And it will have global ramifications. </p>
<p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/10/07/governor-newsom-issues-legislative-update-10-7-23/">signed two new rules</a> into law on Oct. 7, 2023. Under the new <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB253">Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act</a>, U.S. companies with annual revenues of US$1 billion or more will have to report both their direct and indirect <a href="https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard">greenhouse gas emissions</a> starting in 2026 and 2027. The California Chamber of Commerce <a href="https://advocacy.calchamber.com/2023/08/01/calchamber-opposed-climate-reporting-bills-create-challenges-for-businesses/">opposed the regulation</a>, arguing it would increase companies’ costs. But more than a dozen major corporations <a href="https://www.ceres.org/news-center/press-releases/companies-call-climate-disclosure-legislation-california-lawmakers">endorsed the rule</a>, including Microsoft, <a href="https://twitter.com/Scott_Wiener/status/1699891993105833985">Apple</a>, Salesforce and Patagonia. </p>
<p>The second law, the <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB261">Climate-Related Financial Risk Act</a>, requires companies generating $500 million or more to report their financial risks related to climate change and their plans for risk mitigation.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.lilyhsueh.com/home">professor of economics and public policy</a>, I study corporate environmental behavior and public policy, including whether disclosure laws like these work to reduce emissions. I believe California’s new rules represent a significant step toward mainstreaming corporate climate disclosures and potentially meaningful corporate climate actions.</p>
<h2>Many big corporations are already reporting</h2>
<p>Most of the companies covered by California’s climate disclosure rules are multinational corporations. They include technology companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft; giant retailers like Walmart and Costco; and oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron.</p>
<p>Many of these large corporations have been preparing for mandatory disclosure rules for several years.</p>
<p>Close to two-thirds of the companies listed in the S&P 500 index voluntarily <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en/companies">report to CDP</a>, formerly called the Carbon Disclosure Project. CDP is a nonprofit that surveys companies on behalf of institutional investors about their carbon management and plans to reduce carbon emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Apple CEO Tim Cook stands under a giant glittery Apple logo on a black background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apple has been working with its suppliers for several years to reduce their emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/apple-ceo-tim-cook-delivers-a-keynote-address-during-an-news-photo/1421648761">Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of them also face reporting requirements elsewhere, including in the <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/01/30/eu-finalizes-esg-reporting-rules-with-international-impacts/">European Union</a>, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-enshrine-mandatory-climate-disclosures-for-largest-companies-in-law">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/mandatory-climate-related-financial-disclosures/">New Zealand</a>, <a href="https://www.sgx.com/sustainable-finance/sustainability-reporting">Singapore</a> and cities like <a href="https://www.sfc.hk/en/Rules-and-standards/Securities-and-Futures-Ordinance-Part-XV---Disclosure-of-Interests">Hong Kong</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, some of the same U.S. companies, notably <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/im/en-be/intermediary-investor/about-us/newsroom/press-release/sustainable-finance-disclosure-regulation.html">banks and asset managers</a> that operate or sell products in Europe, have already started to comply with the EU’s <a href="https://finance.ec.europa.eu/regulation-and-supervision/financial-services-legislation/implementing-and-delegated-acts/sustainable-finance-disclosures-regulation_en">Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation</a>. Those regulations require companies to report how sustainability risks are integrated into investment decision-making.</p>
<p>While California isn’t the first place to mandate climate disclosures, it is the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-10-24/california-poised-to-overtake-germany-as-world-s-no-4-economy">fifth-largest economy</a> in the world. So, the state’s new laws are poised to have substantial influence worldwide. Subsidiaries of companies that didn’t have to report their emissions before will now be subject to disclosure requirements. California is in effect exercising its immense market leverage to establish climate disclosures as standard practice in the U.S. and beyond.</p>
<p>California also has a history of being a <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691179551/california-greenin">test bed</a> for future federal U.S. policies. The U.S. government is considering broader emissions reporting requirements. But California’s new rules go further than either the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/proposed/2022/33-11042.pdf">proposed corporate climate disclosure rules</a> or President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.sustainability.gov/federalsustainabilityplan/fed-supplier-rule.html">proposed disclosure rules for federal contractors</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A chart shows the differences between California's new climate disclosure laws and carbon disclosure and reporting proposals by the SEC and Biden Administration." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The most controversial part of the new disclosure rules involves scope 3 emissions. These are emissions from a company’s suppliers and its consumers’ use of its products, and they are notoriously difficult to track accurately. </p>
<p>California’s new emissions reporting law directs the <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/">California Air Resources Board</a>, which will develop the regulations and administer them, <a href="https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB253/id/2841248/California-2023-SB253-Enrolled.html">to allow some leeway</a> in scope 3 reporting as long as the reports are made with a reasonable basis and disclosed in good faith. It’s also important to note that at this point the disclosure laws don’t require companies to cut these emissions, only to report them. But tracking scope 3 emissions does highlight where companies could pressure suppliers to make changes.</p>
<h2>What can disclosures achieve?</h2>
<p>The plethora of climate disclosure mandates globally suggest that policymakers and investors around the world perceive climate disclosures as driving actions that protect the environment. The big question is: Do disclosure rules actually work to reduce emissions?</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S2010007822500038">My research</a> shows that voluntary carbon disclosure systems like CDP’s that focus on reporting corporate sustainability outputs, such as having science-based emissions targets, tend not to be as effective as those that focus on outcomes, such as a company’s actual carbon emissions.</p>
<p>For example, a company could earn an A or B grade from CDP and still <a href="https://theconversation.com/secs-climate-disclosure-plan-could-be-in-trouble-after-a-recent-supreme-court-ruling-but-a-bigger-question-looms-does-disclosure-work-185371">increase its entitywide carbon emissions</a>, notably when it does not face regulatory pressure.</p>
<p>In contrast, a recent study of the U.K.’s 2013 disclosure mandate for U.K.-incorporated listed firms found that companies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-021-09611-x">reduced their operational emissions by about 8%</a> relative to a control group, with no significant changes to their profitability. When companies report their emissions, they can <a href="https://theconversation.com/legos-esg-dilemma-why-an-abandoned-plan-to-use-recycled-plastic-bottles-is-a-wake-up-call-for-supply-chain-sustainability-214573">gain important knowledge</a> about inefficiencies in their operations and supply chains that weren’t evident before.</p>
<p>Ultimately, a well-designed disclosure program, whether voluntary or mandatory, needs to focus on consistency, comparability and accountability. Those traits allow companies to demonstrate that their climate pledges and actions are real and not just a front for greenwashing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214630/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lily Hsueh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>California is the world’s fifth-largest economy. Laws tested there often spread across the U.S. and around the world.Lily Hsueh, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2149562023-10-05T03:34:32Z2023-10-05T03:34:32ZShould you charge your phone overnight? Will ‘overcharging’ make it explode? Common battery myths debunked<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552250/original/file-20231005-25-od3clj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C44%2C2466%2C1710&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the world of lithium-ion batteries, smartphones take centre stage. Yet they’ve also sparked an ongoing debate: does prolonged (or overnight) charging wreak havoc on your battery?</p>
<p>A number of factors determine a phone battery’s lifespan, including its manufacturing age and its chemical age. The latter refers to the battery’s gradual degradation due to variables such as fluctuations in temperature, charging and discharging patterns and overall usage.</p>
<p>Over time, the chemical ageing of <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=8720247">lithium-ion batteries</a> reduces charge capacity, battery lifespan and performance.</p>
<p><a href="https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208387">According</a> to Apple:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A normal [iPhone] battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles when operating under normal conditions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620354342">Research has found</a> a 2019 smartphone battery could, on average, undergo 850 full charge/discharge cycles before dropping to below 80% capacity. This means only <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7299844">80%</a> of the initial battery capacity remains after about two to three years of use. At this point the battery begins to deplete noticeably faster. </p>
<h2>Should you charge your phone overnight?</h2>
<p>Most new-generation smartphones will <a href="https://au.anker.com/blogs/chargers/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-phone-to-charge-from-0-100">take</a> somewhere between 30 minutes <a href="https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-s23-charging-speed-3287167/">and two hours</a> to charge fully.</p>
<p>Charging times vary depending on your device’s battery capacity – larger capacities require more time – as well as <a href="https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-409-charging-lithium-ion">how much power</a> your charger supplies. </p>
<p>Charging your phone overnight is <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7299844">not only unnecessary</a>, it also accelerates battery ageing. Full charging cycles (going from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42341-021-00357-6">0%–100%)</a> should be avoided to maximise your battery’s lifespan.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.samsung.com/ae/support/mobile-devices/battery-protection-feature-in-samsung-s23-series/">Samsung</a> says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>charging your battery up to 100% too frequently may negatively impact the overall lifespan of the battery.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similarly, keeping <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208710">iPhones</a> at full charge for extended periods may compromise their battery health.</p>
<p>Rather than a full top-up, it’s recommended to charge your battery up to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42341-021-00357-6">80%</a> and not allow it to dip under <a href="https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-can-i-optimise-and-extend-the-battery-life-on-my-samsung-galaxy-smartphone/">20%</a>. </p>
<h2>Can your phone be overcharged?</h2>
<p>In theory, lithium-ion batteries can be overcharged. This can lead to <a href="https://esa.act.gov.au/be-emergency-ready/lithium-ion-batteries">safety risks</a> such as the battery overheating and catching fire. The good news is most modern phones have an in-built protection that automatically stops the battery from charging further than 100% – preventing any damage from overcharging. </p>
<p>However, each time a battery drops to 99% (due to apps running in the background) it will “<a href="https://whatthetech.tv/what-is-battery-trickle-and-why-is-it-making-your-phone-die/">trickle charge</a>”: it will start charging again to maintain a fully charged state.</p>
<p>Trickle charging can wear a battery down over time. That’s why many manufacturers have features to regulate it. Apple’s <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT210512">iPhones</a> offer functionality to delay charging past 80%. <a href="https://www.samsung.com/ae/support/mobile-devices/battery-protection-feature-in-samsung-s23-series/">Samsung’s Galaxy</a> phones provide the option to cap the charge at 85%.</p>
<h2>Can your phone explode from charging?</h2>
<p>It’s very unlikely your smartphone will explode as a result of charging – especially since most phones now have automatic protections against overcharging.</p>
<p>Still, over the years we have seen <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/india/shocking-school-girl-dies-after-mobile-phone-explodes-in-her-hand-12503252.html">several</a> <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/samsung-finally-explains-galaxy-note-7-exploding-battery-mess-n710581">reports</a> of phones exploding unexpectedly. This usually <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1952/3/032037/pdf">happens as a result</a> of manufacturing faults, poor-quality hardware or physical damage.</p>
<p>Lithium-ion phone batteries <a href="https://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=9389">overheat when</a> the heat generated during charging is unable to dissipate. This may cause burns or, in extreme cases, lead to a fire.</p>
<p>Also, these batteries operate effectively within a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42341-021-00357-6">temperature</a> range of 0°C to 40°C. They may expand at <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/10/6/1192">higher ambient temperatures</a>, potentially causing a fire or explosion.</p>
<p>Using an incorrect, faulty or poor-quality <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1952/3/032037/pdf">charger or cable</a> can also lead to overheating, fire hazards and damage to the phone itself.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/phone-wet-and-wont-turn-on-heres-how-to-deal-with-water-damage-hint-soaking-it-in-rice-wont-work-158633">Phone wet and won't turn on? Here's how to deal with water damage (hint: soaking it in rice won't work)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Tips to enhance your battery’s lifespan</h2>
<p>Although your phone probably has in-built safety mechanisms to protect its battery, taking a cautious approach will make it last even longer. Here are some ways to protect your phone’s battery:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>install the latest software updates to keep your phone up-to-date with the manufacturer’s battery efficiency enhancements</p></li>
<li><p>use original or certified power chargers, as the power delivery (amps, volts and watts) in off-market chargers can differ and may not meet the required safety standards</p></li>
<li><p>avoid exposing your phone to high temperatures – <a href="https://www.apple.com/batteries/maximizing-performance/">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00076952/">Samsung</a> say their phones work best at 0°C to 35°C ambient temperatures</p></li>
<li><p>limit your charging to 80% of the full capacity and don’t let it dip below 20%</p></li>
<li><p>don’t leave your phone charging for an extended period, such as overnight, and disconnect it from the power source if the battery reaches 100%</p></li>
<li><p>keep your phone in a <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph301fc905/ios">well-ventilated</a> area while it’s charging and avoid placing it or the charger under a blanket, pillow or your body while it’s connected to a power source</p></li>
<li><p>monitor your battery health and use to identify unusual trends, such as taking an excessive time to charge, or rapid draining</p></li>
<li><p>if you notice your phone is heating up excessively, or has a bulging or swollen back, get an authorised service centre to check and repair it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you want specific details about your particular phone and battery, the best option is to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-2022-why-do-we-still-not-have-waterproof-phones-185775">It's 2022. Why do we still not have waterproof phones?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ritesh Chugh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Plus 8 tips for maximising your battery’s lifespan.Ritesh Chugh, Associate Professor - Information and Communications Technology, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136082023-09-15T14:42:16Z2023-09-15T14:42:16ZApple has switched from its Lightning connector to USB-C — we explain which is better and why they did it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548509/original/file-20230915-27-pyondc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C24%2C8118%2C5432&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkokthailandoctober-9-apple-iphone-13-pro-2055016577">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After many years of designing and selling <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/12/23859659/apple-cable-history-iphone-15-usb-c-lightning-mac-thunderbolt">a variety of different cables</a> to power and charge its devices, Apple has slowly switched to USB-C chargers for all of its products.</p>
<p>The last device to swap is the iPhone, and it happened <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/23/apple-opposes-eu-plans-to-make-common-charger-port-for-all-devices">against Apple’s will</a>. In October last year, the European Commission <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/10/24/common-charger-eu-ministers-give-final-approval-to-one-size-fits-all-charging-port/">requested</a> all phones and laptop producers switch to the USB-C connector (which had earlier been agreed on as a common standard). </p>
<p>Apple could have chosen to ignore the request and stop selling in the EU, or to produce versions with USB-C for the European single market only. Instead, it chose to comply and <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-usb-c-charger-rule-shows-how-eu-regulators-make-decisions-for-the-world-184763">follow the EU rules everywhere</a>. The common charger for all devices is thus becoming a reality, at least until the world moves completely to <a href="https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/qi2-wireless-charging-announced-apple-magsafe-magnetic-wpc-ces-2023-3663028">wireless charging</a>.</p>
<h2>A better standard</h2>
<p>The Lightning charger was introduced by Apple in 2012 and first featured on the iPhone 5. It was the <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-30-pin-dock-death">successor to the 30-pin dock connector</a> introduced in 2003 for the first iPods and iPhones. Arguably, the key visible innovation of the Lightning cable was <a href="https://www.phonearena.com/news/Apples-new-Lightning-cable-could-be-reversible-on-both-ends_id59443">reversible ends</a>. </p>
<p>This enabled the user to insert the charger into the dock without having to wonder whether it was oriented in the right way. It might seem trivial now, but this was not the case with any other charger. If you are using the standard USB port on your laptop now, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/aug/18/how-much-time-would-a-reversible-usb-cable-save">you are likely to spend a lot of time</a> plugging the cable in and taking it out in order to find the right orientation. You’re probably also complaining about how inconvenient it is. At least, that’s what I do. </p>
<p>The USB-C connector came out about two years after the Lightning. There was <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/4/5173686/usb-type-c-connector-specification-announced">nothing particularly novel</a> or remarkable about it compared to Apple’s cable. However, one notable feature was that it borrowed the Lightning connector’s reversibility.</p>
<p>USB-C is just the name of the connector, not the entire cable. The cable and connector are part of a bigger technical specification called <a href="https://www.usb.org/usb4">USB-4</a>. USB-4 outperforms Lightning in <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/usb-c-vs-lightning-5206813">every technical dimension conceivable</a>. It can transfer data much more quickly: up to 40Gbps (gigabits per second) for USB-4 versus 480Mbps (megabits per second) for Lightning. It also charges devices more swiftly, to the point that Apple <a href="https://www.gsmarena.com/apple_makes_usbc_to_lightning_cable_cheaper-news-31198.php">started selling</a> Lightning to USB-C adaptors.</p>
<p>The main difference between the two, however, is that UBS-C is not proprietary. It was developed by a consortium called the <a href="https://www.usb.org/">USB implementer forum</a>. This consortium is composed of companies such as Intel and Microsoft – and also Apple. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Apple logo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548524/original/file-20230915-25-hcdydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548524/original/file-20230915-25-hcdydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548524/original/file-20230915-25-hcdydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548524/original/file-20230915-25-hcdydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548524/original/file-20230915-25-hcdydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548524/original/file-20230915-25-hcdydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548524/original/file-20230915-25-hcdydb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are several possible reasons why Apple held on to the Lightning connector as long as it did.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frankfurtgermanymay-082017apple-store-logo-apple-inc-1156946404">Vytautas Kielaitis / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All of the USB standards can be used by any business. Apple, on the other hand, does not allow anyone else to use its proprietary accessories, unless they agree on a license. This means that USB-C is compatible with many more devices, including all recent Apple products, but not previously with the iPhone. </p>
<h2>When it pays to be different</h2>
<p>So, what’s so special about the Lightning connection that made Apple stick with it for so long, despite <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51208912">repeated promises</a> to join its competitors on a common standard? Why would Apple sabotage one of its own phones by keeping a substandard charging connection?</p>
<p>One possibility is that consumers are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352239918300216">inattentive</a> when they buy a phone, and do not directly factor in the cost of accessories such as chargers. If this is true, Apple would have needed these <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/120/2/585/1933948">add-ons</a> to remain proprietary and make sure no competitor could start offering them for a lower price. If so, forcing Apple to offer the better standard benefits all consumers.</p>
<p>The alternative explanation is that some consumers actually value the Lightning connection more. After all, the look is different, and Apple fans <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/usb-c-vs-lightning-5206813">argue that it may be harder-wearing</a> than other standards. It is also a signal of status and exclusivity.</p>
<p>We seem to have reached a stage in the market for smartphones where people who only care about everyday usage replace their device much less often. This is probably because technology is not evolving at the same pace it did in the past. Yet, it’s also the case that demand for high end phones <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366550137/Premium-shines-as-mid-to-low-end-smartphone-market-trends-down-in-H1">continues to increase</a>. </p>
<p>This could be because they cater to a subset of consumers who either greatly value a marginally higher quality of camera or slightly bigger storage. But mostly, expensive phones are a way to <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/b/elg/eebook/1508.html">signal social status</a>. </p>
<p>People buy the latest phone not only because they want to own it, but also <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cb.1899">to be seen as owning one</a>. This is certainly a factor that has helped Apple thrive because the company offers products that are visibly different from the cheaper alternative. And another sign of status for Apple users is having different accessories, including the proprietary chargers.</p>
<p>Apple has not always been so keen to reject common standards. Not only is it one of the participants in the USB consortium, but it is also the company that <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3044088/apple-and-usb-a-history-of-adoption-acceptance-acquiescence">helped USB become the global standard</a> by offering it on its first generation of iMacs. </p>
<p>At the time, however, Apple <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-comeback-story-2010-10?r=US&IR=T">was the underdog</a> in the market for personal computers, facing off against the tech giant Microsoft. And a big reason why many people did not buy Apple computers at the time was their fear they would not be compatible with Microsoft products. </p>
<p>At one point, Apple even went <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/technology/apple-allows-windows-on-its-machines.html">as far as developing tools</a> to help users run Windows on their devices. At the time, it made sense to try to make your products as compatible as possible with those of the market leader. </p>
<p>In today’s smartphone market, Apple is a leader, and may <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.8.2.117">gain from not being compatible</a> with other standards and products. The big question, however, is whether consumers benefit. If exclusivity is a way to block competition, then they probably don’t. If consumers value exclusivity, or if it encourages Apple to innovate, then perhaps forced standardisation is not such a great idea.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213608/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apple has been forced to switch connections in its iPhone after the EU adopted a single standard.Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2135492023-09-15T03:52:14Z2023-09-15T03:52:14ZiPhone switching to USB-C is a win for consumers and the environment – but to what extent?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548447/original/file-20230914-15-ceu4aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=237%2C342%2C3571%2C2237&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/0809-poland-europe-lighting-usbc-cable-2359875069">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, technology news has been abuzz as <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/everything-you-need-to-know-about-apple-s-new-iphones-20230908-p5e386.html">Apple introduced its latest iPhones</a> into the market. Among the usual new feature announcements, one stunning change has stood out in particular. The long-standing rumours are true – the new iPhone 15 series has USB-C standard charging ports.</p>
<p>The ditching of Apple’s proprietary Lightning port, which was <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/12/apples-new-lightning-connector-what-it-does-and-doesnt-change/">first introduced in 2012</a>, means iPhone users will finally be able to recharge their phones with the same chargers they use for other devices.</p>
<p>But what does this major change really mean for Apple, consumers and the environment?</p>
<h2>Apple marched to its own beat until now</h2>
<p>Since the inception of Apple, the company has been well known to develop <a href="https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/76594-apple-cables-interfaces-connections/">various proprietary connectors</a> in lieu of adopting tech standards used elsewhere in the industry.</p>
<p>As one of the major players in the mobile market, the iconic brand has relied on the loyalty of its customers, dictating they have no choice but to use Apple’s proprietary cabling and charging technologies to run their products. As a result, they could retain control of their product ecosystem.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, there is also the USB (Universal Serial Bus), an industry standard designed to standardise the many connections we need on personal computers – to plug in a keyboard or a mouse, for example. The group that develops and maintains the standard <a href="https://au.pcmag.com/laptop/29054/what-is-usb-c-an-explainer">includes more than 700 tech companies</a>, including Apple, Microsoft and Samsung. USB-C is the latest iteration of this widely accepted standard.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-usb-c-a-computer-engineer-explains-the-one-device-connector-to-rule-them-all-213447">What is USB-C? A computer engineer explains the one device connector to rule them all</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even while maintaining proprietary standards, in recent years Apple has also rolled out USB-C ports on several of its products, <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2022/07/26/five-apple-products-rumored-to-switch-to-usb-c/">most notably all Macs and several iPads</a>.</p>
<p>However, when the European Union proposed in 2020 that all consumer devices should use a universal standard charger, Apple <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/01/23/apple-says-a-common-charger-would-handicap-innovation-inflate-waste">hit back with claims</a> a single connector standard would stifle innovation and create further electronic waste or e-waste.</p>
<h2>The EU demands USB-C</h2>
<p>It is now apparent Apple lost that battle. The iPhone 15 switch to USB-C comes less than a year after <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220930IPR41928/long-awaited-common-charger-for-mobile-devices-will-be-a-reality-in-2024">the EU passed legislation</a> to require all smartphones, tablets, digital cameras and other small devices to support USB-C by the end of 2024.</p>
<p>The rules also impose a requirement for “<a href="https://www.engadget.com/eu-usb-c-port-charging-requirement-approved-141546579.html">fast charging</a>”, to ensure devices can be charged at the same speed no matter which charger is used.</p>
<p>The purpose behind the move is to mandate a single standardised port so consumers don’t need to carry different cables for different devices. It also means fewer cables need to be manufactured and supplied with new products, thus reducing the e-waste created by discarded electronic goods.</p>
<p>Given the size of the EU market, the new rules may lead to other countries introducing similar legislation. Some <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/european-parliament-rules-for-universal-charging-ports-on-all-portable-electronic-devices/">exceptions will exist</a> for devices that are too small to have a USB-C port, such as smart watches or health monitors.</p>
<p>Apple also has a history of removing popular ports, such as when it removed the headphone jack from the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12823596/apple-iphone-7-no-headphone-jack-lightning-earbuds">iPhone 7</a>. However, it’s too early to know whether the USB-C port on the iPhone could suffer the same fate in favour of wireless charging in the future. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pile of broken mobile phones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548473/original/file-20230915-27-9ds1y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">E-waste is a growing problem, and limited repair options for consumer electronics are a contributing factor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/electronic-scrap-different-phones-smartphones-not-1571752867">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/apples-iphone-12-comes-without-a-charger-a-smart-waste-reduction-move-or-clever-cash-grab-148189">Apple's iPhone 12 comes without a charger: a smart waste-reduction move, or clever cash grab?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How much of an e-waste savings is it, really?</h2>
<p>E-waste is one of the <a href="https://waste-management-world.com/resource-use/e-waste-recycling/">fastest growing waste streams globally</a>. This is due to the shortened lifespan of our electronic devices, limited repair options and growing consumer demand for the newest high-tech products.</p>
<p>The EU’s decision to demand USB-C is part of a greater effort to tackle e-waste. Ironically, it could generate more e-waste in the short term as individuals phase out their Lightning cables and old iPhones. However, the EU claims the new regulation could save almost <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/50321">1,000 tonnes of e-waste annually</a>.</p>
<p>On the grand scale, that’s actually not much, considering Europe <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1219417/per-capita-ewaste-generation-europe-by-country/">generated 12 million tonnes of e-waste in 2019</a>.</p>
<p>The inclusion of a USB-C port probably will not be enough of an incentive for people to upgrade to the iPhone 15, but the move by Apple could in fact be more attractive for those consumers who have been resistant to the iPhone in the past over its charging limitations.</p>
<p>Since there are more than <a href="https://www.demandsage.com/iphone-user-statistics/">one billion iPhones and iPads</a> with Lightning ports in the world right now, you’re likely to find Lightning cables and accessories for a few years to come.</p>
<p>Depending on how long you’re planning on keeping your current iPhone, chances are Lightning chargers will be more difficult to find in the not-too-distant future.</p>
<h2>What can you do about e-waste?</h2>
<p>If you’ve switched to a new device with a different charging port, it renders your old collection of proprietary charging cables virtually useless. So, what should you do when it’s time to clean out the drawer full of old devices and cables?</p>
<p>In Australia, there is a <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/products-schemes/television-computer-recycling-scheme">National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme</a> (NTCRS) to give “Australian households and small businesses free access to industry-funded collection and recycling services”, but the drop-off points may not be nearby.</p>
<p>In addition to the NTCRS, many state and local governments have their own recycling schemes or collection services. For example, the <a href="https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/waste-recycling-services/recycle-e-waste">City of Sydney Council</a> provides a free collection of all e-waste at recycling stations for residents.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.officeworks.com.au/campaigns/how-to-recycle-e-waste">Officeworks</a> have also been recycling e-waste with their “Bring It Back” policy, which provides consumers with the opportunity to drop off devices and cables at their stores. Other organisations like <a href="https://www.mobilemuster.com.au/">MobileMuster</a> offer a similar service where they will recycle mobile phones, chargers and accessories at no cost. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-buy-it-why-cant-you-fix-it-heres-why-we-still-dont-have-the-right-to-repair-203236">If you buy it, why can't you fix it? Here's why we still don't have the 'right to repair'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tyrone Berger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apple just announced its latest suite of iPhones will not use the proprietary Lightning charger. This isn’t a surprise due to EU regulations announced last year.Tyrone Berger, Lecturer in Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2134472023-09-13T23:54:51Z2023-09-13T23:54:51ZWhat is USB-C? A computer engineer explains the one device connector to rule them all<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548132/original/file-20230913-17-n62xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C9%2C3212%2C1943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With pressure from the European Union, Apple has thrown in the towel on its Lightning connector, left, in favor of the standard USB-C, right.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/charger-and-a-traditional-apple-lightning-charger-are-seen-news-photo/1659531079">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple announced on Sept. 12, 2023, that it plans to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/iphone-15-and-15-pro-first-look-why-a-tiny-usb-c-port-is-a-huge-deal-d72fc419">adopt the USB-C connector</a> for all four new iPhone 15 models, helping USB-C become the connector of choice of the electronics industry, nine years after its debut. The move puts Apple <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/24/tech/eu-law-charging-standard/index.html">in compliance with European Union law</a> requiring a single connector type for consumer devices.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.usb.org/usb-type-cr-cable-and-connector-specification">USB-C</a> is a small, versatile connector for mobile and portable devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones. It transfers data at high speeds, transmits video signals and delivers power to charge devices’ batteries. USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. The C refers to the third type, following types A and B.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.usb.org/about">USB Implementers Forum</a>, a consortium of over 1,000 companies that promote and support USB technology, developed the USB-C connector to replace the older USB connectors as well as other types of ports like HDMI, DisplayPort and VGA. The aim is to create a single, universal connector for a wide range of devices. </p>
<p>The key features and benefits of USB-C include a reversible connector that you can insert in either orientation. It also allows some cables to have the same connector on both ends for connecting between devices and connecting devices to chargers, unlike most earlier USB and Lightning cables. </p>
<p>USB-C’s widespread adoption in the electronics industry is likely to lead to a universal standard that reduces the need for multiple types of cables and adapters. Also, its slim and compact shape allows manufacturers to make thinner and lighter devices. </p>
<p>USB-C refers to the physical connector. Connectors use a variety of data transfer protocols – sets of rules for formatting and handling data – such as the USB and Thunderbolt protocols. USB-C supports USB and Thunderbolt, which makes it suitable for connecting laptops, smartphones, tablets, monitors, docking stations and many other devices.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/breaking-down-how-usb4-goes-where-no-usb-standard-has-gone-before/">latest USB protocol, version 4</a>, provides a data transfer rate of up to 40 gigabits per second, depending on the rating of the cable. The <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-thunderbolt-4-why-this-new-interface-will-matter-in-pcs-in-2021">latest Thunderbolt</a>, also on version 4, supports up to 40 gigabits-per-second data transfer and 100 watts charging. The <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/intel-confirms-thunderbolt-5-name-120gbps-tech-arrives-in-2024/">newly announced Thunderbolt 5</a> will support up to 80 and 120 gigabits-per-second transfer and 140 to 240 watts power transfer over a USB-C connector.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w3-yM1IjuB0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What Apple’s shift to USB-C means.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why USB-C matters</h2>
<p>Due to the fragmented nature of technology evolution, computer users a decade ago were struggling with too many connectors: USB for data; power cables for charging; HDMI, DisplayPort or VGA for video; and Ethernet for internet. This called for an industrywide effort to convergence on an all-purpose connector.</p>
<p>Since its introduction in 2014, USB-C has gained widespread popularity and has already become the connector of choice for most non-Apple devices. Apple converted the iPad Pro to USB-C in 2018 and now is doing the same for the best selling Apple device, the iPhone. Some market forecasts suggest there will be close to 4 billion USB-C connector sales by 2025 and <a href="https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/usb-type-c-market">19 billion by 2033</a>.</p>
<p>Thanks to the industrywide adoption of USB-C, consumers soon won’t have to ask “Is this the right connector?” when they reach for a cable to charge or sync their portable devices. And if you’re an iPhone user and find yourself with a new model, you can <a href="https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/what-to-do-with-your-old-chargers-wires-and-cables/">recycle your no-longer-needed Lightning cables</a> by, for example, bringing them to an Apple store.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shreyas Sen receives research funding from a variety of sources, including federal government, state government, and private enterprises. The full list can be seen from his CV at <a href="https://tinyurl.com/ShreyasSenVitae">https://tinyurl.com/ShreyasSenVitae</a>. He is the Founder and CTO of the startup, Ixana. Shreyas was a Research Scientist at Intel Labs from 2011 to 2015 where he was the recipient of an Intel Award for impact on USB-C. </span></em></p>With Apple’s capitulation on the latest iPhone models, USB-C is poised to become the standard connector for all devices.Shreyas Sen, Elmore Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107892023-09-12T01:58:19Z2023-09-12T01:58:19ZApple wants to know if you’re happy or sad as part of its latest software update. Who will this benefit?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547417/original/file-20230911-19-suu0bm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C21%2C2049%2C1221&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.apple.com/au/ios/health/">Apple/screenshot</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple’s iOS 17 operating system is <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/newsroom/2023/06/apple-provides-powerful-insights-into-new-areas-of-health/">expected to drop</a> any day. The software update comes with several new features, including a tool for daily mood and emotion logging – a technique known to emotion researchers as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000599">experience sampling</a>”.</p>
<p>Although there are caveats, certain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717001659">mental health studies</a> have shown that regularly recording one’s feelings can be useful. However, given the vast amount of health data Apple already <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/apple-wants-users-to-store-their-health-data-on-their-devices-is-it-a-good-idea">allows its customers</a> to record, why does it also want to record their subjective feelings? And how helpful might this be for users?</p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>With the latest software update, Apple’s in-built <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/ios/health/">Health app</a> will allow iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch users to record how they feel on a sliding scale from “very unpleasant” to “very pleasant”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541377/original/file-20230807-25-tiylg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541377/original/file-20230807-25-tiylg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541377/original/file-20230807-25-tiylg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541377/original/file-20230807-25-tiylg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541377/original/file-20230807-25-tiylg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541377/original/file-20230807-25-tiylg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541377/original/file-20230807-25-tiylg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The emotion-tracking tool allows users to move a slider that changes the screen from purple (unpleasant), to blue/green (neutral), to orange (pleasant).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Apple</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Users will then select from a list of adjectives to label their feelings and indicate which factors – including health, fitness, relationships, work, money and current events – have most influenced how they feel.</p>
<p>The goal is to give users daily and weekly summaries of their feelings, alongside data on factors that may have influenced them. Apple <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/ios/health/">claims this will</a> help users “build emotional awareness and resilience”. </p>
<h2>Why does Apple care about our feelings?</h2>
<p>Apple devices already collected copious amounts of health data prior to this update. The iPhone is equipped with an accelerometer, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/gyroscope">gyroscope</a>, light meter, microphone, camera and GPS, while the Apple Watch can also record skin temperature and heart rate. Why does Apple now want users to log how they feel as well?</p>
<p>Driven by a range of potential applications – from fraud detection to enhanced customer experience and personalised marketing - the emotion detection and recognition industry is projected to be worth <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200213005614/en">US$56 billion (A$86.9 billion) by 2024</a>. And Apple is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-emotient-m-a-apple-idUSKBN0UL27420160107">one of</a> numerous technology companies that have invested in trying to detect people’s emotions from sensor recordings.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-if-technology-could-read-and-react-to-our-emotions-51107">Imagine if technology could read and react to our emotions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00507-5">scientists are divided</a> over whether emotions can be inferred from such bodily signals. Research reviews suggest neither <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100619832930">facial expressions</a> nor <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000128">physiological responses</a> can be used to reliably infer what emotions someone is experiencing. </p>
<p>By adding self-report to its methodological toolkit, Apple may be recognising that subjective experience is essential to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2018.1515726">understanding human emotion</a> and, it seems, abandoning the goal of inferring emotions solely from “objective” data.</p>
<h2>The science behind experience sampling</h2>
<h1>Emotions versus moods</h1>
<p><br>
Apple’s new feature allows users to record their feelings “right now” (labelled emotions) or “overall today” (designated moods). Is this a valid distinction? </p>
<p>Although scientific consensus remains elusive, emotions are typically defined as being <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17540739221085573"><em>about</em> something</a>: I am angry <em>at</em> my boss <em>because</em> she rejected my proposal. On the other hand, moods are not consciously <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073909103594">tied to specific events</a>: I’m feeling grumpy, but I don’t know why.</p>
<p>Apple’s two reporting methods don’t neatly distinguish emotions from moods, even though they rely on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.6.934">different cognitive processes</a> that can produce divergent estimates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000248">of people’s feelings</a>. </p>
<p>If the new feature allowed users to independently select both the time frame (momentary or daily) and type of feeling (directed emotion or diffuse mood) being experienced, this could help make users more aware of biases in how they remember feelings. It may even help people identify the often obscure causes of their moods. </p>
<h1>Dimensions of feeling</h1>
<p><br>
Apple’s feeling slider asks people how pleasant or unpleasant they feel. This captures the primary dimension of feeling, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000606">known as valence</a>, but neglects <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02024.x">other essential dimensions</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, scientists debate whether pleasantness and unpleasantness are opposite sides of a continuum, as the feature assumes, or whether they can co-occur as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.05.021">mixed emotions</a>. Measuring pleasant and unpleasant feelings separately would allow users to report mixed feelings, which are common <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145450">in everyday life</a>. </p>
<p>Some research also suggests knowing how pleasant and unpleasant someone is feeling can be used to infer the second fundamental <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000606">dimension of their feelings</a>, namely their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613475456">level of arousal</a> – such as how “tense” or “calm” they are.</p>
<h1>Feeling categories</h1>
<p><br>
After they have rated the valence of the feelings, Apple’s feature asks users to label their feelings using a list of adjectives such as “grateful”, “worried”, “happy” or “discouraged”. </p>
<p>Do these options capture the breadth of human feelings? The number of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702247114">unique emotion categories</a> – or whether discrete emotion categories <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2017.12.004">exist at all</a> – is a topic of ongoing <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/gbqtc">scientific debate</a>. Yet, Apple’s initial list of feeling categories provides pretty decent coverage of this space. </p>
<h2>What are the benefits?</h2>
<p>Apple’s claim that mood and emotion tracking may improve users’ wellbeing is not unfounded. Research has shown monitoring and labelling feelings enhances people’s ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.10.092">differentiate between emotions</a>, and helps them <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073917742706">cope with distress</a>. Both of these are key ingredients for healthy psychological functioning. </p>
<p>Beyond that, emerging research suggests that patterns of moment-to-moment fluctuations in people’s everyday feelings may be useful in predicting who is <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/k5n7c">at risk of developing depression</a> or other mental illnesses. </p>
<p>Apple’s history of <a href="https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-launches-major-mental-health-study-to-discover-insights-about-depression">research collaboration</a> offers hope that tracking people’s feelings on a massive scale may lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-019-0121-1">scientific breakthroughs</a> in our understanding, treatment and prevention of common mental health disorders.</p>
<h2>What are the risks?</h2>
<p>At the same time, Apple is asking users to hand over yet more of their personal data – so we can’t overlook the potential pitfalls of the new feature.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/au/ios/health/">Apple assures users</a> the Health app is “designed for privacy and security” with <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/ios/health/pdf/Health_Privacy_White_Paper_May_2023.pdf">a range of safeguards</a>, including data encryption and user control over data sharing. It guarantees health data “may not be used for advertising, marketing, or sold to data brokers”.</p>
<p>This may sound encouraging, but Apple’s data privacy record is <a href="https://gizmodo.com.au/2022/12/10-apple-privacy-problems-that-might-surprise-you/">far from perfect</a>. The company was recently fined by French authorities for <a href="https://gizmodo.com.au/2023/01/apple-fined-us8-5-12-for-illegally-collecting-iphone-owners-data-for-ads/">using customers’ data</a> for targeted advertising without consent. </p>
<p>Detailed data on users’ self-reported moods and emotions could also potentially be used for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/17/emotion-ai-artificial-intelligence-mood-realeyes-amazon-facebook-emotient">advertising products and services</a>, although Apple’s policy currently <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/ios/health/pdf/Health_Privacy_White_Paper_May_2023.pdf">forbids third-party apps</a> from doing this. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://right.ly/our-views-and-opinions/how-your-mental-health-data-and-information-sold-advertisers/">potential for misuse</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/DtHt1BMpCXs">commodification</a> of sensitive mental health data is real, suggesting a <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/consumers-and-data/data-collection-and-use/how-your-data-is-used/articles/mental-health-apps">need for stricter regulation</a> over how companies collect, store and use customers’ data.</p>
<p>Before you dive into using mood and emotion-tracking features, we’d urge you to consider whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50585-1_6">the risks</a> outweigh the potential benefits for you.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Update: this article was updated following a response from an Apple spokesperson, to clarify that Apple does not access users’ Health data without their permission, and that third-party apps may not use users’ Health data for advertising or marketing</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210789/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Koval has received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Wadley receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Tag and Xanthe Lowe-Brown do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The iPhone already has an accelerometer, gyroscope, light meter, microphone, camera and GPS. Why does Apple now want you to tell it how you’re feeling?Peter Koval, Associate Professor of Psychology, The University of MelbourneBenjamin Tag, Lecturer, Monash UniversityGreg Wadley, Senior Lecturer, Computing and Information Systems, The University of MelbourneXanthe Lowe-Brown, PhD Student, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2112632023-09-06T21:21:02Z2023-09-06T21:21:02ZYour iPhone will soon be able to track your mental health with iOS 17, but what are the implications for your well-being?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546529/original/file-20230905-19-uo066u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=157%2C44%2C4730%2C3263&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new mood tracker will ask users to rate how they feel both daily and in random moments.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/your-iphone-will-soon-be-able-to-track-your-mental-health-with-ios-17-but-what-are-the-implications-for-your-well-being" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>When Apple’s <a href="https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2023/06/apple-previews-new-features-coming-to-apple-services-this-fall/">latest software updates</a> drop this month, users will have access to mental <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/apple-provides-powerful-insights-into-new-areas-of-health/">health and wellness</a> features unlike anything currently available in a smartphone. With the Apple Watch and iOS health app, Apple has long striven to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-outlines-health-technology-strategy-new-report-2022-07-20/">cement itself in the health-care tech space</a>. But the new features go beyond the standard heart rate, sleep, calorie and fitness trackers that have become universal in smart tech. </p>
<p>A new mood tracker (dubbed “State of Mind”) will ask users to rate how they feel both in random moments (from unpleasant to pleasant) and daily. Mental health questionnaires will provide users with a preliminary screening for depression (using the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3928/0048-5713-20020901-06">PHQ-9 screening tool</a>) and anxiety (using the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092">GAD-7 screening tool</a>) that can alert them to their risk levels and connect them to licensed professionals in their area.</p>
<p>Finally, Apple is introducing a journaling app that can collect user data from photos, texts, music/gaming/TV history, location, fitness etc. to give users a holistic picture of each day. </p>
<p>Those who use Apple’s <a href="https://research-methodology.net/apple-ecosystem-closed-effective/">ecosystem</a> know that it’s <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2021/06/apple-wwdc-ios15-new-features-walled-garden.html">extensive and powerful</a>, and true Apple devotees will use an Apple product for nearly every digital experience they have.</p>
<p>This means Apple is in the position to arrive at unique insights about a user’s life. What they’re proposing in iOS 17 is to essentially hold a mirror up to their users, allowing them to see their lives through their interactions with technology. </p>
<h2>Tracking mental state</h2>
<p>As a philosopher of psychology who studies how technology is changing the way people relate to their mental health, and as an avid Apple fan, I wanted to try out these new features as soon as possible. I downloaded the public beta software in July and want to share my insights about how we might approach this new technology.</p>
<p>The State of Mind tool is simple to use. When opening the Health App after updating to iOS 17, I was prompted to start tracking my mental state. I can choose to log a state at a specific time (for example, how did I feel at 2:30 p.m. today?), or to log my mental state for the day. </p>
<p>The sliding scale of mental states is visually appealing. The screen turns blue when I slide to the “unpleasant” options and orange when I slide to the “pleasant” options. </p>
<p>After settling on a mental state, users are prompted to give some context. </p>
<p>First, there’s a predetermined list of emotions that might describe the user’s mental state (for example, “anxious,” “content,” “happy,” “excited”), and then a list of factors that might be contributing to that mental state (such as “work,” “friends,” “current events”). Here users can write in something specific that will be included in the log. </p>
<p>If they use it daily, users can access a calendar of daily mental states and a graph that visualizes the cycle of states over a given week, month or year. Clicking on any data point will pull up the details of that day, any momentary moods the user logged and the context the user provided. </p>
<p>The user interface functions similarly to the other health metrics Apple already logs. It is a minimalist design that offers easily digestible data. Users can access mental state metrics on the home screen of the app with their other health data. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A screenshot of the State of Mind graph presented with the author's exercise data over the past month." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542365/original/file-20230811-25-7c96ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542365/original/file-20230811-25-7c96ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1299&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542365/original/file-20230811-25-7c96ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542365/original/file-20230811-25-7c96ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1299&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542365/original/file-20230811-25-7c96ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1633&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542365/original/file-20230811-25-7c96ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1633&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542365/original/file-20230811-25-7c96ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1633&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mood data can be presented alongside exercise minutes, inviting users to draw conclusions about them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Owen Chevalier)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When using the mental well-being features, I can’t help but think the introduction of them is a step closer to <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enhancement">transhumanism</a>, which is the amalgamation of humans and technology, and eventual replacement of the human body with technology. </p>
<p>Instead of just measuring physical fitness (tracking workouts, counting calories), the iPhone and Apple Watch can be holistic measures of me as a person. They can define not only my active life but also my mental life. I can scroll through an Apple-branded definition of who I am. Eventually, I can become the Apple ideal version of myself. </p>
<p>On the surface, it is helpful to see that I often rate days more highly when I’m active and sleep enough (although it doesn’t take AI to know that). However, as a researcher I know that there’s a limit to what data can tell us, based on the measurements we use and our <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-knowledge-social/#SciSoc">biases as interpreters</a>.</p>
<p>I wonder how the average Apple user will interpret this data, and whether they will start shaping their lives to arrive at graphs that look desirable. </p>
<p>The late philosopher Ian Hacking describes a <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/2043/pba151p285.pdf">looping effect</a> between people and the labels they’re given. Looping effects are prominent in the algorithm-driven software we use. Researchers have found people’s TikTok feeds become <a href="https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11172">reflections of their self-concept</a> as they begin to trust the insights AI draws from the feedback they’ve given. </p>
<p>However, TikTok algorithms are not blank slates for self-concept creation. They’re designed to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/business/media/tiktok-algorithm.html">put people into marketing categories to sell them to advertisers</a>.</p>
<p>Apple isn’t trying to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/apple-privacy-data-collection">sell your data</a>; its <a href="https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/pdfs/apple-privacy-policy-en-ww.pdf">privacy policy</a> states, “Apple does not share personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.” But its health app reflects its corporate mandates and the world it wants to create. </p>
<p>In an <a href="https://time.com/5472329/apple-watch-ecg/">interview with <em>Time</em></a>, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Apple’s largest contribution to mankind will be in improving people’s health and well-being.” </p>
<p>Apple is a company of ideals. Compared to traditional computer marketing, which highlights performance specs, Apple pioneered selling computers by advertising who a user can be with a Mac. This was the purpose behind their <a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/441206/today-in-apple-history-its-time-to-think-different/">“Think Different”</a> campaign. Even when Apple does discuss technical details of computer performance, their use of flashy visuals and vague language makes it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6g6rDDt9x8">difficult to accurately assess</a> their products against competitors.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Chart comparing the CPU Performance of Apple's M1 chip against other laptops." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545391/original/file-20230829-16-4esk5c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545391/original/file-20230829-16-4esk5c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545391/original/file-20230829-16-4esk5c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545391/original/file-20230829-16-4esk5c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545391/original/file-20230829-16-4esk5c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545391/original/file-20230829-16-4esk5c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545391/original/file-20230829-16-4esk5c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While Apple provides graphs like these, they do not provide enough information to be valuable as a comparison tool. Instead, they reflect Apple’s branding and are marketed to users who may not be concerned with the details of computer performance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2020/11/apple-unleashes-m1/">(Apple)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The messaging is clear: An Apple user is not just someone who owns a piece of tech, but someone who is cool, creative, colourful and individualistic. Now they can be healthy and well-adjusted, too. </p>
<p>But corporate mandates can be hollow because at their core they exist to increase profits. Apple’s success as a company comes from its ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2013.06.003">own the consumer</a>. </p>
<p>With an airtight ecosystem, users become dependent on Apple for all their digital needs. By integrating health into that ecosystem, those users may be dependent on Apple for their well-being too. I’m not sure what happens when people incorporate their Apple self into their self-concept, but it might make them better consumers and more productive employees. Ultimately, this is the goal of <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ca/Documents/about-deloitte/ca-en-about-blueprint-for-workplace-mental-health-final-aoda.pdf">corporate mental health</a>. </p>
<p>Just as spa days and five-minute yoga breaks can only go so far in improving mental health, it’s not clear that iOS 17 is the medical revolution Apple hopes it will be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Owen Chevalier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New features on Apple iOS 17 aim to give users insights into their mental health, but they may also shape how people see themselves.Owen Chevalier, PhD Student, Philosophy Department, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2027062023-08-03T12:25:29Z2023-08-03T12:25:29ZMany global corporations will soon have to police up and down their supply chains as EU human rights ‘due diligence’ law nears enactment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538609/original/file-20230720-27-c0f2jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=130%2C142%2C7809%2C5154&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Forced and child labor has been reported in mines in the Congo, which produces over 70% of the world's cobalt. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/artisanal-miners-carry-sacks-of-ore-at-the-shabara-news-photo/1244417469">Junior Kannah/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The European Union <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/eu-lawmakers-back-human-rights-environmental-checks-big-companies-2023-04-25/">will soon require thousands of large companies</a> to actively look for and reduce human rights abuses and environmental damage in their supply chains. And although it’s an EU law, it will also cover foreign businesses – including American ones – that have operations in the region.</p>
<p>The European Parliament <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0209_EN.html">approved a draft of the new rules in June 2023</a>, and now EU member states and the European Commission will negotiate to finalize the law, which is expected to begin rolling out in phases a few years from now. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.business.uconn.edu/person/rachel-chambers/">We study</a> the <a href="https://peoplefinder.lsbu.ac.uk/researcher/8xxx0/dr-david-birchall">impacts of human rights</a> disclosure and due diligence laws on businesses. In the past, governments have generally asked only that companies voluntarily comply with efforts to advance human rights. The EU law would be the biggest attempt yet to legally mandate compliance – with major implications for human rights and businesses around the world. </p>
<h2>Human rights and big business</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/what-are-human-rights">Human rights are those fundamental rights</a> that all individuals hold simply by virtue of being human, such as rights to life and freedom of thought.</p>
<p>Human rights usually inform laws that limit what governments can do – for example, by obliging them to refrain from torturing people. Increasingly, however, <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/business-and-human-rights-requirements-are-rise-2023">they are also informing business regulations</a>, because powerful companies can have serious impacts on individuals’ human rights. </p>
<p>Businesses have a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Business-and-Human-Rights-History-Law-and-Policy---Bridging-the-Accountability/Bernaz/p/book/9781138683006">long history of human rights abuses</a>, from the British East India Co.’s pivotal role in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/taboo-the-east-india-company-and-the-true-horrors-of-empire-73616">slave trade</a> and IBM’s complicity in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/29/humanities.highereducation">the Holocaust</a> to more recent deadly environmental disasters involving <a href="https://www.leighday.co.uk/latest-updates/news/2021-news/legal-claim-by-more-than-2-500-zambian-villagers-in-a-case-against-vedanta-resources-limited/">oil and mining companies</a>.</p>
<p>More contemporary examples of this are <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara">children in the Democratic Republic of Congo mining cobalt</a> destined for cellphones or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/business/cotton-xinjiang-forced-labor-retailers.html">forced labor being used in the production of cotton</a> in China’s heavily Muslim Xinjiang region.</p>
<p>In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council took a step toward policing these abuses by unanimously adopting “guiding principles” on business and human rights. These principles <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdf">urge governments to compel</a> companies in their jurisdictions to respect human rights wherever they operate. Such an approach stands in contrast to more common voluntary standards, such as <a href="https://ecovadis.com/glossary/supplier-code-conduct/#:%7E:text=What%20is%20a%20Supplier%20code,of%20employees%2C%20and%20ethical%20practices.">supplier codes of conduct</a>, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-apparel-brands-efforts-to-police-their-supply-chains-arent-working-136821">some observers have suggested have been ineffective</a>. </p>
<p>In 2017, France <a href="https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2021/03/human-rights-due-diligence-legislation-in-europe#">became the first country</a> to actually mandate that companies police their supply chains for human rights abuses. </p>
<p>The EU’s human rights due diligence law, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1145">first drafted in 2022</a>, builds on the French version – but goes a few steps further. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="protesters march in streets holding signs in front of apple logo on a building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539098/original/file-20230724-21-tniwth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539098/original/file-20230724-21-tniwth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539098/original/file-20230724-21-tniwth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539098/original/file-20230724-21-tniwth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539098/original/file-20230724-21-tniwth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539098/original/file-20230724-21-tniwth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539098/original/file-20230724-21-tniwth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apple is among the U.S.-based companies that would likely have to comply with the EU rules.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/hongkongers-tibetans-uyghur-muslims-and-their-supporters-news-photo/1245513825">Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Doing your due diligence</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/wg-business/corporate-human-rights-due-diligence-identifying-and-leveraging-emerging-practices">Human rights due diligence</a> is a process by which companies are meant to map out, understand and address all potential human rights abuses that occur throughout their operations. </p>
<p>The term “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/duediligence.asp">due diligence</a>” is borrowed from the common business practice of financial due diligence, wherein financial risks are investigated before any large investment. So just as businesses evaluate financial risks, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Business/ExecutiveSummaryA73163.pdf">human rights advocates argue</a> companies should put similar effort into investigating the risk that an activity might violate someone’s human rights.</p>
<p>The EU law would mandate that all large companies that operate in the bloc conduct human rights due diligence among their suppliers – by, for example, making sure child or forced labor wasn’t involved – but also on how their products are used by consumers – such as when a piece of technology is used to surveil citizens. </p>
<p>The law would cover most human rights, including labor rights and environmental rights, past or present. In practice, that would mean companies would have to map any harmful impacts that have occurred or could occur and take action to remedy or prevent them.</p>
<p>The rules would also include provisions for enforcement and penalties for noncompliance through fines and other sanctions. And victims of abuse would be able to seek damages.</p>
<p>In its current form, the law would cover EU companies with at least 500 workers and 150 million euros US$162 million) in net revenue, but those thresholds fall to 250 workers and 40 million euros ($44.5 million) in sectors with a higher risk of abuse, such as clothing, footwear and agriculture. Non-European companies must comply if they have EU revenues that meet those thresholds. An estimated 13,000 EU companies and 4,000 based outside of Europe – including household names like Apple, Amazon and Nike – <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/european-union-releases-draft-mandatory-human-rights-and-environmental-due-diligence">would be subject to the law</a>. </p>
<p>If it works as intended, the EU law <a href="http://corporatejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/asi_eccj_report_final.pdf">could be transformative</a> in protecting human rights, including worker health and safety and workers’ free speech, around the world. According to a recent report by human rights scholars, it could be “<a href="https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/TraffLabReport_March23.pdf">particularly valuable</a> in the context of transnational supply chains, where the fragmented nature of production has long presented formidable legal and practical barriers to efforts to secure greater corporate accountability for labor rights violations and poor working conditions.”</p>
<h2>Bad for business?</h2>
<p>While <a href="https://www.ioe-emp.org/fileadmin/ioe_documents/publications/Policy%20Areas/business_and_human_rights/EN/_2015-03-16__Economist_Intelligence_Unit_Report_-_Today_s_Challenges_for_Business_in_Respecting_Human_Rights.pdf">many companies</a> <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/big-issues/mandatory-due-diligence/companies-investors-in-support-of-mhrdd/">have already endorsed mandatory due diligence</a> rules, others worry this kind of government mandate <a href="http://corporatejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/debating-mhrdd-legislation-a-reality-check.pdf">would be too onerous</a>.</p>
<p>A full map of risks in a company’s value chain – from raw materials to consumers – is difficult to establish when suppliers are separate companies operating on the other side of the world and global supply chains are frequently large and complex. </p>
<p>Some companies also <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-416_i4dj.pdf">strongly resist</a> the idea of being held responsible for human rights violations that take place in their supply chains overseas. </p>
<h2>Ripe for US rules</h2>
<p>For this reason, the U.S. <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/nyujolbu18&div=17&id=&page=">has so far preferred voluntary rules</a> when it comes to pushing companies to respect human rights. </p>
<p>But that’s slowly beginning to change.</p>
<p>In 2012, California implemented the <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/SB657">Supply Chain Transparency Act</a>, which requires companies operating in the state to disclose their “efforts to eradicate human trafficking and slavery” in their global supply chains. And in 2021, Congress passed the <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA">Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act</a>, which bans the importation of goods mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China – home of the Uyghur people, who have been <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/whats-happened-to-chinas-uyghur-camps-12881984">subjected to an intense program of state suppression since 2017</a>. </p>
<p>Between these rules there is a clear trend developing of an increasing number of U.S. companies being obligated to implement some form of human rights due diligence. But these rules, unlike the developing European approach, are very narrowly tailored and don’t require companies to routinely undertake due diligence.</p>
<p>As a result, the U.S. companies that would be subject to the EU rules would be at a competitive disadvantage to many of their domestic rivals. </p>
<p>That’s why we believe the time may be ripe for Congress to consider its own more comprehensive human rights due diligence law, which would let the U.S. take the lead on the issue and have more of a say in these global standards. We believe that such a move would also be a major boon to protecting the human rights of marginalized groups across the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202706/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Chambers and David Birchall received a small grant from Universitas 21 for the research project that this article forms part of.</span></em></p>A new EU law would require thousands of multinational companies, including many based in the US, to look for signs of human rights abuses in their supply chains.Rachel Chambers, Assistant Professor of Business Law, University of ConnecticutDavid Birchall, Senior Lecturer in Law, London South Bank UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055522023-07-11T12:28:34Z2023-07-11T12:28:34ZLiberal CEOs were more likely to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine than more conservative corporate leaders<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534665/original/file-20230628-21915-rn71zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=94%2C49%2C2901%2C1944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Burberry was one of the first Western companies to announce it was suspending sales in Russia after the invasion. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-tower-of-kremlin-reflexing-in-a-window-of-closed-news-photo/1239055957">Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Companies led by liberal-leaning CEOs were more likely to leave Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 than those helmed by conservatives, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2023.101475">our new study</a>. We measured their political leanings based on how much they donated to the two main U.S. political parties over five recent federal election cycles. </p>
<p>In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, <a href="https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-1000-companies-have-curtailed-operations-russia-some-remain">over 1,000 companies said they would divest</a>, abandon or pause their operations in the country. Some, however, chose to stay. We wanted to understand what drove that decision, and we felt that their executives’ political leanings might be a driver, <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/03/in-light-of-russia-sanctions-consider-your-conditions-for-doing-business-in-other-countries">given the frequent references to ethics</a> and ideology in the corporate statements of businesses exiting Russia.</p>
<p>So we took a list of 189 U.S.-based public companies that <a href="https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-1000-companies-have-curtailed-operations-russia-some-remain">had business in Russia prior to the invasion</a> from a website run by a team at Yale University that has been tracking the corporate response since Feb. 28, 2022. To determine political leanings, we examined the donations of their CEOs during every federal election from 2012 through 2020 and gave them a score depending on how much they gave to Democrats versus Republicans.</p>
<p>We then looked at how the companies responded during the war’s first 40 days, relying on the Yale database, with a focus on whether they chose to abandon Russia or not. </p>
<p>A tad over 30% of companies in our sample chose to leave Russia at the onset of the conflict, while 39% suspended their operations at least temporarily and another 8% scaled back their investments. On the other hand, 14% put new projects on hold but carried on existing operations, and 8% carried on business as normal. </p>
<p>Overall, we found that companies with more liberal CEOs – including ride-hailing app Uber, vacation rental company Airbnb and computer maker Apple – were more likely to either leave or suspend their operations. Conservative-led businesses, such as hotel chain Hilton and consumer goods company <a href="https://us.pg.com/blogs/pg-european-operations-update/">Procter & Gamble</a>, tended to be the ones that maintained business as usual or did little more than pause new investments. </p>
<p>We didn’t track corporate actions after the first 40 days, but we do know that some of these companies continue to do business in Russia – <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/oreo-maker-mondelez-faces-nordic-backlash-over-russia-business-2023-06-12/">despite pressure to cease operations</a>.</p>
<p>We also considered 18 other variables that may have had some impact on a company’s decision to stay or go, such as their industry, size and board composition. We found that although CEO ideology had one of the strongest impacts on the decision, some other factors mattered more, such as industry. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Companies have traditionally <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/13/archives/a-friedman-doctrine-the-social-responsibility-of-business-is-to.html">made most business decisions</a> – including whether or not to abandon an entire market – by gauging economic or financial factors. And they’ve tended to stay out of politics to avoid alienating their customers.</p>
<p>In recent years, corporate CEOs <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2018.0084">have become more willing to disclose</a> their ideological position on controversial social issues. And increasingly, political ideology of the CEO has become another key factor driving business decisions, as our own research confirms. </p>
<p>Because the U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320909419">appears increasingly polarized</a> along a conservative-liberal axis, it’s important to be aware of how corporate leaders’ personal politics are affecting their decisions. And that creates the possibility that such decisions are informed by ideological biases rather than purely objective economic data.</p>
<p>The costs of these choices are high, as some companies said they <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/05/03/bp-profit-russia/">lost billions of dollars</a> in revenue because of their decision to leave the Russian market.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>A big question remains over what this means for the role of corporations in society. </p>
<p>On the one hand, corporations have long been expected to <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/09/17/the-friedman-essay-and-the-true-purpose-of-the-business-corporation/">put the interests of shareholders</a> – and their profits – above pretty much everything else. On the other, there’s growing evidence that companies are taking a much broader perspective on the purpose of the corporation, notably <a href="https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans">expressed in a 2019 pledge</a> by 131 companies to “promote an economy that serves all Americans.”</p>
<p>Liberal CEOS <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839213486984">are more likely to take</a> on that broader perspective than conservative executives, who still tend to put a greater emphasis on shareholder wealth.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study found that a CEO’s political ideology was correlated with the decision of whether to leave or suspend operations in Russia following the 2022 invasion.Yannick Thams, Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business, Florida Atlantic UniversityLuis Alfonso Dau, Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy, Northeastern UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073782023-06-22T14:45:23Z2023-06-22T14:45:23ZLionel Messi: move to the US is a creative deal which follows in the bootsteps of David Beckham<p>Few would doubt <a href="https://www.biography.com/athletes/lionel-messi">Lionel Messi’s</a> impact on European football. The scorer of 474 goals during his long career at Barcelona, he has been named the best footballer in the world a <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/uk/football/news/ballon-dor-winners-who-won-most-messi-cristiano-ronaldo/eadowq8olw61jsnig9el6fdj?utm_source=syndication">record seven times</a>.</p>
<p>Now we are about to see what impact Messi will have on football in America. For the Argentinian, who has spent the last two seasons playing for Paris Saint-Germain, has decided not to accept offers to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2023/01/12/saudi-giants-al-hilal-to-offer-messi-mouthwatering-350-million-deal-to-rival-ronaldo/?sh=3ff4b8ab6348">play in Saudi Arabia</a>, and is <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-statement-on-lionel-messi-and-inter-miami-cf">joining Inter Miami</a> in Florida instead.</p>
<p>This could turn out to be a massive turning point for the sport in the US. Messi has global appeal, and millions of fans will likely take a new interest in Major League Soccer (MLS) when one of the greatest players of all time is part of it.</p>
<p>Among Messi’s newest supporters are two of the world’s biggest companies, Apple and Adidas, who are <a href="https://theathletic.com/4589316/2023/06/07/lionel-messi-transfer-inter-miami/?source=user_shared_article">reportedly working in partnership</a> with Inter Miami and MLS as part of the deal.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/apple-proved-vital-in-convincing-lionel-messi-to-join-inter-miami-report">Suggested details</a> include Messi receiving a share of Inter Miami club merchandise from Adidas, and some of the revenue from Apple’s <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/channel/mls-season-pass/tvs.sbd.7000">“Season Pass”</a>, a streaming subscription which gives viewers access to every MLS game. The pass, which costs £14.99 a month, or £99 a season in the UK, launched in February 2023, in a 10-year deal <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mls-apple-have-high-expectations-with-launch-of-season-pass-6b3153b3">worth US$2.5 billion</a> (£1.9 billion) to the league. </p>
<p>And Apple’s involvement doesn’t end there. Just before Messi’s move was made public, <a href="https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/2023/06/06/apple-tv-has-a-lionel-messi-documentary-series-in-the-works/">Apple TV announced</a> a four-part documentary series about the star, featuring behind the scenes coverage of the men’s 2022 Fifa World Cup, which Argentina won.</p>
<p>So Apple seem to think Messi is worthy of major investment. For their part, MLS are likely to offer Messi shares in Inter Miami, which is part-owned by former Manchester United player David Beckham. And it was arguably Beckham who paved the way for the kind of creative deal Messi looks set to enjoy. </p>
<h2>Spend it like Beckham</h2>
<p>For when Beckham joined <a href="https://www.lagalaxy.com/">LA Galaxy</a> from Real Madrid in 2007, his <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-beckham-experiment/id420318757">deal</a> included a share of shirt and ticket sales, something no MLS side had ever done before. It also included the chance to buy an MLS team for a reduced fee – which ended up in his shared ownership of Inter Miami.</p>
<p>Beckham was the league’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1527002514547297">first “designated player”</a> – a name for squad players (a maximum of three per side) who are signed up without being subject to league rules on salary caps. This means they are often highly paid.</p>
<p>Messi is expected to earn <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/lionel-messi-inter-miami-contract-salary-mls-b2355200.html">US$54 million a year</a>, US$46 million more than the league’s next highest paid player (Chicago Fire’s <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mls/rankings/">Xherdan Shaqiri</a>). </p>
<p>In return for those kind of salaries, designated players are expected to attract fans and ticket sales. There is research which suggests that Beckham’s arrival in the MLS <a href="https://fitpublishing.com/content/vend-it-beckham-david-beckham%E2%80%99s-effect-mls-ticket-sales-pp-189-195">increased ticket sales by 55%</a>. </p>
<p>Other research says he was a key part of match attendance <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2017.1329331?needAccess=true">increasing by 65%</a> across the league, with the addition of hundreds of thousands of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1527002514567922">new fans</a>. The “Beckham effect” was greatest for LA Galaxy away games, which saw the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16184742.2017.1329331?role=button&needAccess=true&journalCode=resm20">biggest increase in attendance</a>. </p>
<p>So the theory seems to be that big stars like Messi and Beckham, can <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsm/28/1/article-p49.xml">benefit the whole league</a>. Saudi Arabia is <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-ng/lists/saudi-pro-league-transfers-2023/blt2db2d288980bec39#cs24675661685868d8">pursuing a similar strategy</a>, splashing out on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to add talent and fame to the country’s league.</p>
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<p>But the return on these investments is not guaranteed. Recent research on the impact of designated players on MLS found them to have a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15270025221134234">smaller impact</a> than previously thought. One study even concluded that they had <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsm/34/1/article-p53.xml">no impact</a> at all on match attendance.</p>
<p>Research also reveals that once fans had seen Beckham play for LA Galaxy, the sense of novelty <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2017.1329331?needAccess=true">decreased over time</a>. Attendance was highest during the first year of his six years in the league. </p>
<p>The same may turn out to be true for Messi. For now though, tickets for games involving Inter Miami are <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/football-superstar-lionel-messi-to-join-david-beckhams-inter-miami-12898223">selling out</a>.
And for football in America (not to be confused with American football of course) the timing could turn out to be perfect. </p>
<p>The next men’s Fifa World Cup in 2026, will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico, marking a golden opportunity for MLS and the US Soccer Federation to expand the game’s domestic appeal.</p>
<p>To do that, MLS and Inter Miami will need to try to manage and maximise Messi’s impact. Apple, meanwhile, will simply be hoping Messi continues to produce the skill that has won him so many fans – and that those fans think his American journey is worth the price of another streaming subscription.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Hutchinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Beckham, the co-owner of Messi’s new club, paved the way for the Argentine’s arrival in the US.Matthew Hutchinson, Lecturer in Sport Business Management, Keele UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2056102023-06-21T15:03:17Z2023-06-21T15:03:17ZWhy businesses leak new product details and how they benefit from these rumours<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532694/original/file-20230619-15-nkvjs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C10%2C6679%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hot gossip.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-whispering-secret-into-her-friends-1115281736">Cara-Foto/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple’s recent unveiling of the Vision Pro, its first augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) headset, came as a surprise to no one who follows Apple news – <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/apple-vr-headset-leak-rumour-release-date-wwdc-b2348463.html">rumours had been circulating for years</a>. </p>
<p>Apple’s products have a long history of creating waves well ahead of launch due to rumour and speculation. In late 2009, for example, the technology blog MacRumors.com suggested – without fully validated evidence – that Apple was going to call <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2009/12/24/apple-purchased-islate-com-in-2007-apples-new-tablet-called-islate/">its upcoming tablet computer the “iSlate”</a>. Other rumours about the device – some of which turned out to be correct – discussed possible features and the timing of its forthcoming release. Of course, the “iSlate” was finally launched by Apple in April 2010 as the iPad tablet.</p>
<p>A lack of solid information fuelled ambiguity, in that case, and the same has happened with Apple’s Vision Pro headset. By discussing issues like purpose, price and looks pre-launch, consumers and competitors start to develop ideas about products, and perhaps even what accessories or apps will be needed alongside them. They also start to develop thoughts about how the market – or even consumers’ lives – could change as a result. All with often little to no solid information.</p>
<p>Academic research <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1948-00288-000">classifies a rumour</a> as information passed from one person to another with “a lack of secure standards of evidence”. Rumours are forms of information with an uncertain status when it comes to truth – they are sometimes not even true or false yet.</p>
<p>Rumours generally start any time there is ambiguity about future events. So product innovation rumours speculate on forthcoming products or updates. The source could be someone like a contributor to an online technology blog, but it could also come from within a company itself.</p>
<p>It may appear paradoxical for an innovative firm such as Apple to leak new design products – but these rumours can elevate share prices, test industry and consumer reaction, and preempt competitor moves. Other companies – competitors or those developing accompanying products and services – can also use rumours to their advantage. Such information can help them make decisions under time pressure when trying to keep up with fast-paced change in industries such as tech.</p>
<p>In the case of a firm like Apple, product innovation rumours can act as provisional knowledge. As the competition, but also investors, analysts, and the media, all attempt to gather as much information on the direction of forthcoming innovation, rumours are often used to fill any gaps.</p>
<h2>Gossip that moves markets</h2>
<p>Leaks are often frowned upon by companies because, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167487002001897">as is well-documented</a> by research, <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jnlbus/v63y1990i3p291-308.html">it can move markets</a>. In the case of Apple’s recent VR headset launch, rumours were among the drivers of its share price rising to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/06/05/apple-stock-hits-all-time-high-then-falls-after-revealing-3500-price-tag-for-ai-headset/?sh=1721a1d551d9">an all-time high</a> by the day of its debut on June 5 2023. It soon fell again when Apple announced the headset’s hefty US$3,499 (£2,729) price tag, however. </p>
<p>Rumours can also have a strategic impact on competitors. While pre-launch whispers about Apple’s new VR headset were swirling around the internet, it’s competitor <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f42fb901-b728-431a-99da-b881b15519c4">Meta launched a new edition of its VR product</a> at a seventh of the price of Apple’s.</p>
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<img alt="Woman holding smartphone with new facebook logo wearing Oculus VR headset" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532702/original/file-20230619-1801-gmp6m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532702/original/file-20230619-1801-gmp6m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532702/original/file-20230619-1801-gmp6m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532702/original/file-20230619-1801-gmp6m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532702/original/file-20230619-1801-gmp6m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532702/original/file-20230619-1801-gmp6m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532702/original/file-20230619-1801-gmp6m3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Meta has also recently released new VR googles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/meta-logo-on-iphone-rebranding-woman-2068418660">Boumen Japet/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But research into the impact of leaking on company performance creates a mixed picture. For example, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24058091_Why_Do_Firms_Disclose_Knowledge_and_How_Does_It_Matter">one simulation study</a> acknowledges that there are short-term risks of leaking such as competitors getting hold of commercial information, but ultimately found that firms benefit in the long run. For instance, once details of a new project are out there, a firm might be approached about new R&D partnerships with other companies in its ecosystem.</p>
<p>This is why an organisation might engage in “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222821700_Selective_Revealing_in_Open_Innovation_Processes_The_Case_of_Embedded_Linux">selective leaking</a>” of certain product details, such as code or other intellectual property. This can help generate related contributions from other organisations – app developers in the case of Apple, for example.</p>
<p>And so selective revealing helps inform other interested parties about a possible product direction, especially when such information is hard to come by otherwise. But companies have to constantly negotiate how <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2011.00762.x">openness as a strategy</a> can work in tandem with the need to protect intellectual property. </p>
<p>This explains why leaks tend to happen in highly competitive markets where there is a need to draw attention to product plans, to create a buzz around upcoming products, or to discourage consumers from buying competing products. Also, it helps employees and managers in other firms – competitors or producers of accompanying products and services – to react quickly.</p>
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<img alt="webpage of Apple on iPad Pro XR showcasing with tilt-shift lens the word Apple Vision Pro mixed reality XR headset." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532697/original/file-20230619-19-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532697/original/file-20230619-19-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532697/original/file-20230619-19-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532697/original/file-20230619-19-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532697/original/file-20230619-19-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532697/original/file-20230619-19-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532697/original/file-20230619-19-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2>Ambiguity fuels rumours</h2>
<p>Companies in innovative sectors such as technology can face an ambiguous, nascent market environment that, according to our research, has “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733318300507">unclear customers, undefined product attributes, and no well-established industry value chain</a>”. Under such conditions, rumours can help managers making technical design decisions to tap into discussions and expectations of producers and consumers. </p>
<p>In such market circumstances, rumours can also help out investors and analysts who need reassurance, not only about an organisation’s financial outlook but, by extension, about its strategy.</p>
<p>The role of ambiguity and relative lack of information during the tech product innovation process encourages people to devour rumours to attain new knowledge, however provisional it may be. This is why tech blogs that share rumours have become important information intermediaries that even major investors and company analysts track to glean information on firms’ potential strategic outlooks. </p>
<p>And so, when keeping an ear out for rumours about new tech, remember they are often based on unverified information. While exciting to follow, only time will tell if such leaks are true or false.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rumours can hinder - but also help - companies that want to get ahead of the competition.Basak Yakis-Douglas, Associate professor, King's College LondonTim Hannigan, Associate professor, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073072023-06-09T03:20:29Z2023-06-09T03:20:29ZThe Apple Vision Pro hasn’t really impressed consumers, but that isn’t the goal – for now<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531060/original/file-20230609-28-hnfwyk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C54%2C7186%2C4758&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeff Chiu/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple’s new Vision Pro mixed reality headset has generated a significant amount of buzz. Announcing it at this year’s <a href="https://developer.apple.com/wwdc23/">Worldwide Developers Conference</a>, chief executive <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65809408">Tim Cook said</a> the virtual and augmented reality headset will <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX9qSaGXFyg">allow users to</a> “see, hear and interact with digital content just like it’s in your physical space […] seamlessly blending the real and virtual worlds”.</p>
<p>The Vision Pro is the first new product category Apple has introduced since the Apple Watch in 2014. It marks the company’s foray into <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/newsroom/2023/06/introducing-apple-vision-pro/">spatial computing</a>. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-is-breaking-its-own-rules-with-a-new-headset-80c9b36c">Analysts</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/finance/quote/AAPL:NASDAQ?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8ztzBybL_AhWFd94KHUKbCv0Q3ecFegQIKhAh">markets</a> and <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2023/06/early-testers-vision-pro-apple/">consumers</a> have been quick to react – and not all positively. </p>
<p>On one hand, the headset has been <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/05/first-impressions-yes-apple-vision-pro-works-and-yes-its-good/">lauded for</a> its <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/5/23750003/apple-vision-pro-hands-on-the-best-headset-demo-ever">technical features</a>. It’s less clunky than competitors’ offerings and has a range of advanced capabilities, including hand and eye tracking, and the seamless combination of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/joanna-stern-personal-technology/apple-vision-pro-headset-first-look-impressive-immersive-and-heavy/776FE781-C5F2-4048-9161-08563DA7364E">virtual and augmented reality</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531062/original/file-20230609-22-b9kivr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The mixed reality headset has had a mixed reception, although it has generally impressed on the technical front.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeff Chiu/AP</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>However, others can’t help but point out the hefty price tag of US$3,500 – and the fact that the general public has <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/do-people-actually-want-to-wear-vr-headsets/">simply not</a> <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/apple-vision-pro-doomed/">embraced</a> mixed reality headsets.</p>
<p>Globally, the demand for these headsets has been slowing. Fewer than <a href="https://www.idc.com/promo/arvr">nine million units</a> were shipped in 2022 (mostly by <a href="https://forwork.meta.com/quest/quest-pro/?ref=AVsRL14V5xl7CziavTtRzDrQ8O5yjImi3boLHA-qhBivxUIybXgQgnTdAcluip9cjZjrA7c67zPnPs5o6hzHTzHhbEBZ9MYq98Y7CrFJcfq2-vlUkmOQWpH81Ve59PH6QRUSjSXFlwQ1ejW5iuueSbY7DHyjlTvaROakHgFhkimSBnVniKx8eBZ_zYlTzI3Cktg9jAlUj3RfA2exKTP5Ps3WH1IndddONEOFiKsrIUPfQFsYk_qPBBw8VOTATf6p_jfNrHzpnFSqu8I4nHc02nw0BgZr3aaQzBvbaxkMnK5SutEvjTUiGtqbUB3VJjeUA-EF4BSkodpCwrtrBJa0zDGpk3yzgc6KwY16h9SP5Fr4en9VGIAt6jPTQSfpYa3Kb9UqVG">Meta</a>, Apple’s biggest competitor in this category).</p>
<p>Meta sees spatial computing as a big part of the tech future, despite <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/27/metas-shares-dip-is-proof-metaverse-plan-never-really-had-legs-facebook">market analysts and critics</a> calling for the <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-the-metaverse/">metaverse</a> to be abandoned. Last week it released the Quest 3 at a relatively low cost of US$499. With continued heavy spending on the metaverse, developers of Quest 3 Reality Labs recorded an operating loss of <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/meta-quest-3-unveiled-ahead-of-apples-planned-vr-headset-debut.html">US$3.99 billion</a> in the first quarter of 2023. </p>
<h2>So if there is no demand, who is Apple targeting?</h2>
<p>While Meta’s recent history might seem like a cautionary tale, timing and strategy are critical when it comes to technological innovation. And compared to Meta, Apple’s strategy seems prudent.</p>
<p>Apple is likely betting the app developer community will provide it with the <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/06/06/even-with-so-many-demonstrated-use-cases-apple-vision-pro-might-not-yet-have-a-purpose">use cases</a> it needs to turn the Vision Pro (and subsequent iterations) into its next big income generator – and perhaps change how we interact with this technology forever.</p>
<p>Getting developers to build exciting complementary offerings, such as apps and device add-ons, would give Apple a springboard to convince users of the Vision Pro’s <a href="https://www.smartinsights.com/manage-digital-transformation/digital-transformation-strategy/digital-marketing-models-technology-acceptance-model/">value</a>. But this won’t work without developers’ buy-in, which leads us to believe the Vision Pro is (at least for now) aimed at Apple’s <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/06/06/apple-now-has-over-34-million-registered-developers">34 million</a> registered <a href="https://developer.apple.com/wwdc23/">app developers</a>, rather than the broader user market. </p>
<p>It’s expected many of the apps on the App Store will work on <a href="https://kanebridgenews.com/apple-releases-vision-pro-headset-first-major-new-product-in-a-decade/">Vision OS</a>, the Vision Pro’s operating system, by the time the product is launched. Apple is already <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/06/vision-pro-developer-kits-will-help-devs-get-their-apps-ready-before-launch/">supporting developers</a> with programs and tools to redesign apps for compatibility with the Vision Pro, and create new ones. </p>
<p>Users are attracted to a product that provides more app variety, and their migration to it further piques developers’ interest. Typically, this becomes a self-reinforcing cycle. Such a multiplication of value for consumers, coupled with Apple’s manufacturing capabilities, could allow the Vision Pro to rise to dominance. </p>
<p>And this isn’t just speculation; Apple has used this approach before.</p>
<h2>Leveraging an app-driven ecosystem</h2>
<p>Apple has a history of leveraging its app-driven <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/042815/story-behind-apples-success.asp">ecosystem business model</a> to give its products the upper hand. One early example of this was the iPod and iTunes, wherein the Apple Music store, cloud connectivity and massive storage capacity (at the time) created an environment that locked users in. </p>
<p>More importantly, with the sophistication of the hardware and software, the ease of use and the novelty of the experience, users were happy to be locked in. </p>
<p>This approach has been repeated time and again with other Apple products, such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/latest-updates-apple-is-trying-to-reclaim-its-major-innovator-status-by-making-you-wash-your-hands-141293">Apple Watch</a>. Once more, Apple drove innovation by linking the hardware to other devices and systems, introducing unique features and providing high-quality apps to generate interest. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-iphone-turns-15-a-look-at-the-past-and-future-of-one-of-the-21st-centurys-most-influential-devices-183137">The iPhone turns 15: a look at the past (and future) of one of the 21st century's most influential devices</a>
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<h2>Competition heats up</h2>
<p>Ultimately, users will judge the value of the Vision Pro through a combination of objective and subjective information. According to initial reviews, the Vision Pro operates well, and Apple is using branding and marketing tactics to further create a perception of value.</p>
<p>All things considered, Apple’s entry into the mixed reality market represents a big threat to competitors. It has a track record of building hardware at scale and with progressively affordable prices. And let’s not forget its base of some two billion active devices to which the Vision Pro can link. </p>
<p>Apple’s massive ecosystem – built on devices, apps, developers and manufacturing partners – won’t be running dry anytime soon. And by the very fact of its existence, the Vision Pro has a shot at success.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-iphone-se-is-the-cheapest-yet-smart-move-or-a-premium-tech-brand-losing-its-way-136507">The new iPhone SE is the cheapest yet: smart move, or a premium tech brand losing its way?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207307/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martie-Louise Verreynne receives funding from the ARC and NHMRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers has received funding from State and Local Governments for specific research projects.</span></em></p>Many point to Meta’s failings to make a case for mixed reality headsets having no future. But Apple’s approach is arguably much more strategic.Martie-Louise Verreynne, Professor in Innovation and Associate Dean (Research), The University of QueenslandMargarietha de Villiers Scheepers, Associate professor, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2070332023-06-08T20:07:12Z2023-06-08T20:07:12ZWhat is the ‘splinternet’? Here’s why the internet is less whole than you might think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530739/original/file-20230608-28-h3pjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C188%2C5712%2C2802&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Splinternet” refers to the way the internet is <a href="https://theconversation.com/country-rules-the-splinternet-may-be-the-future-of-the-web-81939">being splintered</a> – broken up, divided, separated, locked down, boxed up, or otherwise segmented.</p>
<p>Whether for nation states or corporations, there’s money and control to be had by influencing <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-the-internet-looks-brighter-thanks-to-an-eu-court-opinion-109721">what information people can access and share</a>, as well as the costs that are paid for this access. </p>
<p>The idea of a splinternet isn’t new, nor is the problem. But recent developments are likely to enhance segmentation, and have brought it back into new light. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meta-just-copped-a-a-1-9bn-fine-for-keeping-eu-data-in-the-us-but-why-should-users-care-where-data-are-stored-206186">Meta just copped a A$1.9bn fine for keeping EU data in the US. But why should users care where data are stored?</a>
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<h2>The internet as a whole</h2>
<p>The core question is whether we have just one single internet for everyone, or whether we have many.</p>
<p>Think of how we refer to things like the sky, the sea, or the economy. Despite these conceptually being singular things, we’re often only seeing a perspective: a part of the whole that isn’t complete, but we still experience directly. This applies to the internet, too.</p>
<p>A large portion of the internet is what’s known as the “deep web”. These are the parts search engines and web crawlers generally don’t go to. Estimates vary, but a rule of thumb is that approximately 70% of the web is “deep”.</p>
<p>Despite the name and the anxious news reporting in some sectors, the deep web is mostly benign. It refers to the parts of the web to which access is restricted in some ways.</p>
<p>Your personal email is a part of the deep web – no matter how bad your password might be, it requires authorisation to access. So do your Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive accounts. If your work or school has its own servers, these are part of the deep web – they’re connected, but not publicly accessible by default (we hope).</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/searching-deep-and-dark-building-a-google-for-the-less-visible-parts-of-the-web-58472">Searching deep and dark: Building a Google for the less visible parts of the web</a>
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<p>We can expand this to things like the experience of multiplayer videogames, most social media platforms, and much more. Yes, there are parts that live up to the ominous name, but most of the deep web is just the stuff that needs password access.</p>
<p>The internet changes, too – connections go live, cables get broken or satellites fail, people bring their new <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-things-every-consumer-should-know-about-the-internet-of-things-78765">Internet of Things devices</a> (like “smart” fridges and doorbells) online, or accidentally open their computer ports to the net.</p>
<p>But because such a huge portion of the web is shaped by our individual access, we all have our own perspectives on what it’s like to use the internet. Just like standing under “the sky”, our local experience is different to that of others. No one can see the full picture. </p>
<h2>A fractured internet poised to fracture even more</h2>
<p>Was there ever a single “Internet”? Certainly the US research computer network called <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ARPANET">ARPANET</a> in the 1960s was clear, discrete, and unfractured.</p>
<p>Alongside this, in the ‘60s and '70s, governments in the Soviet Union and Chile also each worked on similar network projects called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OGAS">OGAS</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn">CyberSyn</a>, respectively. These systems were proto-internets that could have expanded significantly, and had themes that resonate today – OGAS was heavily surveilled by the KGB, and CyberSyn was a social experiment destroyed during a far-right coup.</p>
<p>Each was very clearly separate, each was a fractured computer network that relied on government support to succeed, and ARPANET was the only one to succeed due to its significant government funding. It was the kernel that would become the basis of the internet, and it was <a href="https://home.cern/science/computing/where-web-was-born">Tim Berners-Lee’s work on HTML at CERN</a> that became the basis of the web we have today, and something he <a href="https://theconversation.com/snowden-and-berners-lees-campaign-for-an-open-internet-24329">seeks to protect</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pencil drawing on a stamp showing a smiling man next to two computer screens with www on them" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530749/original/file-20230608-25-jdt55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Marshall Islands released a postal stamp in 1999 celebrating English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee as the inventor of the World Wide Web.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/marshall-islands-circa-2000-postage-stamp-150910184">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Today, we can see the unified “Internet” has given way to a fractured internet – one poised to fracture even more.</p>
<p>Many nations effectively have their own internets already. These are still technically connected to the rest of the internet, but are subject to such distinct policies, regulations and costs that they are distinctly different for the users.</p>
<p>For example, Russia maintains a Soviet-era-style surveillance of the internet, and is far from alone in doing so – thanks to Xi Jinping, there is now “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/29/the-great-firewall-of-china-xi-jinpings-internet-shutdown">the great firewall of China</a>”.</p>
<p>Surveillance isn’t the only barrier to internet use, with harassment, abuse, censorship, taxation and pricing of access, and similar internet controls being a major issue <a href="https://rsf.org/sites/default/files/a4_predateur-en_final.pdf">across many countries</a>.</p>
<p>Content controls aren’t bad in themselves – it’s easy to think of content that most people would prefer didn’t exist. Nonetheless, these national regulations lead to a splintering of internet experience depending on which country you’re in.</p>
<p>Indeed, every single country has local factors that shape the internet experience, from language to law, from culture to censorship.</p>
<p>While this can be overcome by tools such as VPNs (virtual private networks) or shifting to blockchain networks, in practice these are individual solutions that only a small percentage of people use, and don’t represent a stable solution.</p>
<h2>We’re already on the splinternet</h2>
<p>In short, it doesn’t fix it for those who aren’t technically savvy and it doesn’t fix the issues with commercial services. Even without censorious governments, the problems remain. In 2021, Facebook <a href="https://theconversation.com/stuff-up-or-conspiracy-whistleblowers-claim-facebook-deliberately-le">shut down Australian news content</a> as a protest against the News Media Bargaining Code, leading to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-wechat-model-how-facebooks-ban-could-change-the-business-of-news-155629">potential change in the industry</a>.</p>
<p>Before that, organisations such as Wikipedia and Google <a href="https://www.battleforthenet.com/july12/">protested the winding back of network neutrality provisions</a> in the US in 2017 following <a href="https://sopastrike.com/">earlier</a> <a href="https://www.battleforthenet.com/sept10th/">campaigns</a>.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/facebooks-news-blockade-in-australia-shows-how-tech-giants-are-swallowing-the-web-155832">Facebook's news blockade in Australia shows how tech giants are swallowing the web</a>
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<p>Facebook (now known as Meta) attempted to create a walled garden internet in India called Free Basics – this led to a massive outcry about corporate control in late 2015 and early 2016. Today, <a href="https://theconversation.com/meta-just-copped-a-a-1-9bn-fine-for-keeping-eu-data-in-the-us-but-why-should-users-care-where-data-are-stored-206186">Meta’s breaches of EU law</a> are placing its business model at risk in the territory.</p>
<p>This broad shift has been described in the past by my colleague Mark Andrejevic in 2007 as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10714420701715365">digital enclosure</a> – where states and commercial interests increasingly segment, separate and restrict what is accessible on the internet.</p>
<p>The uneven overlapping of national regulations and economies will interact oddly with digital services that cut across multiple borders. Further reductions in network neutrality will open the doors to restrictive internet service provider deals, price-based discrimination, and lock-in contracts with content providers.</p>
<p>The existing diversity of experience on the internet will see users’ experiences and access continue to diverge. As internet-based companies increasingly rely on exclusive access to users for tracking and advertising, as services and ISPs overcome falling revenue with lock-in agreements, and as government policies change, we’ll see the splintering continue.</p>
<p>The splinternet isn’t that different from what we already have. But it does represent an internet that’s even less global, less deliberative, less fair and less unified than we have today.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tim-berners-lees-plan-to-save-the-internet-give-us-back-control-of-our-data-154130">Tim Berners-Lee's plan to save the internet: give us back control of our data</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207033/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robbie Fordyce is affiliated with the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.</span></em></p>There’s really no such thing as one global internet – it all depends on your perspective. But the internet is poised to fracturing even more.Robbie Fordyce, Lecturer, Communications and Media Studies, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2071252023-06-06T18:03:00Z2023-06-06T18:03:00ZApple Vision Pro headset: what does it do and will it deliver?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530291/original/file-20230606-15-6s4g00.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C5964%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The headset can blur the lines between virtual reality and augmented reality.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://epaimages.com/search.pp?flush=1&multikeyword=apple&startdate=&enddate=&autocomplete_City=&metadatafield5=&autocomplete_Country=&metadatafield44=">JOHN G. MABANGLO / EPA IMAGES</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple recently unveiled its <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/">Vision Pro headset</a> at the Worldwide Developers Conference in California. With it, Apple is venturing into a market of head-mounted devices (HMDs) – which are usually just displays, but in this case is more of a complete computer attached to your head – as well as the worlds of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). </p>
<p>The new Apple product will fuel the hopes of many working on these technologies that they will some day be routinely used by the public, just as the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch helped bring smartphones, tablets and wearable tech into mainstream use.</p>
<p>But what does the Vision Pro actually do, and how much mass appeal will it have?</p>
<p>VR immerses users in an entirely computer-generated world, isolating them to a large degree from their physical surroundings. AR superimposes computer-generated elements onto the real world while the latter remains visible, with the purpose of enhancing the context of our physical surroundings.</p>
<p>A term often used interchangeably with AR is mixed reality, referring to a set of immersive technologies including AR, that provide <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.08386">different “blends” of physical and virtual worlds</a>. These three technologies are often <a href="https://www.w3.org/immersive-web/">collectively referred to as XR</a>.</p>
<p>The blending of VR and AR seems to be a key part of Apple’s thinking, with the <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/">Vision Pro</a> allowing users to adjust their level of immersion by deciding how much of the real world they can see. This transitioning between the two experiences will probably be a trend for future HMDs.</p>
<p>The physical world is “seen” through an array of 12 cameras located behind a ski-goggle-like glass fascia, acting as a lens. When the Vision Pro is in VR mode, people approaching you in the real world are automatically detected and displayed as they get close. </p>
<p>A feature called EyeSight also displays the wearer’s eyes through the glass lens when needed, to enable more natural interaction with people around them – a challenge for many HMDs.</p>
<p>In terms of technical specifications, the Vision Pro is impressive. It uses a combination of the M2 microchip and a new chip called the R1. M2 is running <a href="https://developer.apple.com/visionos/">visionOS</a>, which Apple calls its first spatial operating system, along with computer vision algorithms and computer graphics generation. </p>
<p>R1 processes information from the cameras, an array of microphones and a LiDAR scanner – which uses a laser to measure distances to different objects – in order to make the headset aware of its surroundings.</p>
<p>More importantly, the Vision Pro boasts an impressive display system with “more pixels than a 4K TV to each eye”. Its ability to track where the wearer’s eyes are looking allows users to interact with graphical elements just by looking at them. The headset can receive gesture and voice commands and features a form of 360-degree sound called spatial audio. The quoted unplugged operating time is two hours.</p>
<h2>Wearable ‘ecosystem’</h2>
<p>Packed, in typical Apple fashion, in curved aluminum and glass, the headset has an eye-watering price of US$3,499 (£2,819) and represents a collection of many premium features. But Apple has a history of developing products with increasingly versatile capabilities to sense what’s going on in their real-world surroundings.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Tim Cook (L) and Apple Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi speak during the conference keynote address." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530338/original/file-20230606-15-sfqgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530338/original/file-20230606-15-sfqgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530338/original/file-20230606-15-sfqgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530338/original/file-20230606-15-sfqgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530338/original/file-20230606-15-sfqgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530338/original/file-20230606-15-sfqgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530338/original/file-20230606-15-sfqgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Tim Cook (L) and Apple Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi speak during the conference keynote address.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://epaimages.com/search.pp?flush=1&multikeyword=apple&startdate=&enddate=&autocomplete_City=&metadatafield5=&autocomplete_Country=&metadatafield44=">JOE MABANGLO / EPA IMAGES</a></span>
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<p>Apple also focuses on making its devices interoperable – meaning they work easily with other Apple devices – forming a wearable “ecosystem”. This is what really promises to be disruptive about the Vision Pro. It is also akin to what had been promised and hoped for by pioneers in the idea of <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/">wearable computing back in the 1990s</a>.</p>
<p>Combining the headset with the iPhone, which still forms the backbone of Apple’s ecosystem, and the Apple Watch could help create new uses for augmented reality. Likewise, linking the headset to many programming tools demonstrates the company’s desire to tap into an existing community of developers of augmented reality applications.</p>
<p>Many questions remain, however. For example, will it be able to access mixed reality applications via a web browser? What will it be like to use from an ergonomic point of view?</p>
<p>It’s also unclear when the Vision Pro be available outside the US or whether there will be a non-Pro version – as the “Pro” part of the title implies a more “expert”, or developer market.</p>
<p>The Vision Pro is a gamble, as XR is often seen as something that promises but rarely delivers. Yet, companies such as Apple and those that are probably its primary competitors in the XR domain, Meta and Microsoft, have the clout to make XR popular for the general public.</p>
<p>More importantly, devices such as the Vision Pro and its ecosystem, as well as its competitors could provide the foundation for developing <a href="https://theconversation.com/metaverse-five-things-to-know-and-what-it-could-mean-for-you-171061">the metaverse</a>. This is an immersive world, facilitated by headsets, that aims for social interaction that’s more natural than with previous products.</p>
<p>Sceptics will say that Vision Pro and EyeSight make you appear like a scuba diver in your living room. But this could finally be the time to dive into the deep waters of XR.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Panagiotis Ritsos receives funding from the DSP Centre, Bangor University, which has been partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund through Welsh Government and also by the North Wales Growth Deal through Ambition North Wales, Welsh Government and UK Government.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Peter W. S. Butcher receives funding from the DSP Centre, Bangor University, which has been partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund through Welsh Government and also by the North Wales Growth Deal through Ambition North Wales, Welsh Government and UK Government.</span></em></p>Will Apple’s Vision Pro set the new standard for the future of virtual reality?Panagiotis Ritsos, Senior Lecturer in Visualisation, Bangor UniversityPeter Butcher, Lecturer in Human Computer Interaction, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.