Technology

Bloomberg Wistron Corp, one of Apple’s manufacturing partners, said half its capacity could reside outside China within a year. The declaration underscored how the Asian assemblers that keep the world supplied with iPhones and other gadgets are shifting to a higher gear after the coronavirus showed the folly of staking everything on one country. The move in production out of ...

Bloomberg The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to reach at least 50 million people with a WhatsApp information service that delivers information on demand about the coronavirus and is so successful in South Africa it will be used around the world. The free service, the first of its kind launched globally by the WHO, garnered 10 million users within three ...

Bloomberg GameStop Corp shares tumbled after analysts wrote that the video-game retailer would likely have to close stores in response to the coronavirus outbreak, disputing the company’s reported view that it was an “essential” retailer. Kotaku reported that GameStop believes its stores are “essential retail,” like grocery stores or pharmacies, and therefore able to remain open despite the pandemic. “We ...

Bloomberg Hey Alexa, stop listening to my client’s information. As law firms urge attorneys to work from home during the global pandemic, their employees’ confidential phone calls with clients run the risk of being heard by Amazon.com Inc and Google. Mishcon de Reya LLP, the UK law firm that does corporate law, issued advice to staff to mute or shut ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc said its annual WWDC conference will be online-only this year, scrapping a gathering that usually attracts thousands of software developers. “WWDC 2020 will take on an entirely new online format,” Apple said in a statement, citing the “current health situation.” The event will still have a full agenda, including an online keynote address and classes for developers ...

Bloomberg As major events were getting cancelled across the US, and New York was banning gatherings of 500 or more on March 12, the Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer hosted a final shindig in honour of its new Connected Watch. At the Caldwell Factory in New York’s trendy West Chelsea district, guests played with the new smart timepiece, which comes ...

Bloomberg As Chinese factories hit by the coronavirus look to restart production, the pain is only beginning for carriers that rely on steady shipments of Asian smartphones. AT&T Inc is bracing for handset shortages across the US. A carrier in the UK and one in France are already dealing with supply disruption and could run out of some popular models, ...

Bloomberg Tech giants continue to drop out of this month’s South by Southwest festival over coronavirus concerns, threatening an event that typically serves as one of the industry’s most influential gatherings. Apple Inc said that it wouldn’t be attending the conference, which kicks off on March 13 in Austin, Texas. The iPhone maker and streaming-video provider had planned to debut ...

Bloomberg The chief executive of Lego A/S says the novel coronavirus only represents a short-term blow to China’s economy that won’t change the toymaker’s expansion plans in its fastest growing market. Lego reported record sales and said growth in 2020 will once again be led by China. It’s targeting almost 60% more stores there this year, bringing the number to ...

Bloomberg Spin, the scooter-sharing service owned by Ford Motor Co, is expanding to new markets outside of the US. The company will launch its first international fleet of electric scooters in Cologne, Germany, as soon as the spring, according to a statement. It will start with several hundred scooters and plans to increase the number quickly, though pricing hasn’t been ...