Seeking Alpha’s roundup of statements, announcements, and remarks that could impact the technology sector.
- Shipments of Apple (AAPL) iPhones are expected to surpass Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) smartphone shipments for the first time in 14 years.
Apple is planning to ship approximately 243 million iPhones in 2025, while Samsung is slated to ship around 235 million devices, with Apple claiming a 19.4% stake in the global smartphone market versus 18.7% for Samsung, according to CNBC, which cited a report by Counterpoint Research.
“Beyond the highly positive market reception for the iPhone 17 series, the key driver behind the upgraded shipment outlook lies in the replacement cycle reaching its inflection point. Consumers who purchased smartphones during the COVID-19 boom are now entering their upgrade phase,” Counterpoint Research said in its report, according to CNBC.
- The Trump administration is negotiating a trade deal with Taiwan that could lower the 20% U.S. tariff on Taiwanese goods while increasing investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry.
The potential deal would call for Taiwanese companies, including chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), to expand their U.S. operations and train American workers, according to Reuters, which cited people close to the matter.
- Uber (UBER) and China’s WeRide (WRD) have teamed up to offer Level 4 autonomous robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi.
“This marks the first driverless deployment in the Middle East, as well as the first city outside the United States to host fully driverless operations on the Uber platform. The launch was supported by the world’s first city-level fully driverless Robotaxi permit outside the U.S.,” Uber said in a statement.
Uber is also partnered with Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Waymo in the U.S. to offer robotaxi service in Austin and Atlanta.
Other companies involved in developing robotaxi services include Amazon’s (AMZN) Zoox, Tesla (TSLA), Lyft (LYFT), Baidu (BIDU), and Pony AI (PONY).