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Apple's general counsel and environment chief exit
Apple’s general counsel Kate Adams and vice president for environment, policy, and social initiatives Lisa Jackson will exit the company, part of Apple’s ongoing leadership overhaul. The company also said this week that its head of user interface design and head of artificial intelligence will leave Apple. Meta’s top lawyer, Jennifer Newstead, will replace Adams as general counsel, and Jackson’s government affairs team will also report to Newstead. “Kate has been an integral part of the company for the better part of a decade, having provided critical advice while always advocating on behalf of our customers’ right to privacy and protecting Apple’s right to innovate,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. Jackson “has been instrumental in helping us reduce our global greenhouse emissions by more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels,” said Cook. “She has also been a critical strategic partner in engaging governments around the world, advocating for the best interests of our users on a myriad of topics, as well as advancing our values, from education and accessibility to privacy and security.” Apple did not disclose a reason for Adams’ departure. Jackson is retiring, the company said. Adams joined Apple as general counsel in 20
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Microsoft 365 raises prices of productivity suites
Microsoft announced it will increase the prices of its Microsoft 365 productivity suites for commercial and government clients starting in July 2026. This comes as the Microsoft suite, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint, faces growing competition from Google products. In a blog post, the corporate vice president for Microsoft 365 and Copilot also said that new features have been added to the value of the suites. “We are continuously investing and innovating our platform for the future,” she said. “In the last year, we released more than 1,100 features across Microsoft 365, Security, Copilot, and SharePoint.” The price hike will impact businesses and public sector agencies, with small business and frontline worker plans seeing the highest increase. Microsoft 365 Business Basic plans will increase by 16.7% to US$7 per month, and the Business Standard will rise by 12% to US$14. Enterprise plans are set to have smaller rises, with Microsoft 365 E3 to jump 8.3% to US$39 and E5 by 5.3% to US$60. Frontline workers are set to see the greatest surge by as much as 33%, with the Microsoft 365 F1 rising from US$2.25 to $3 and F3 from $8 to $10 and Government suites will follow a similar trajectory. All these
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EU probes Meta over WhatsApp AI integration
The European Union has launched an antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms' use of AI features in WhatsApp that would block rivals. According to the EU, Meta’s new policy announced in October prohibits AI providers from using a tool that allows businesses to communicate with customers via WhatsApp, the ‘WhatsApp Business Solution', when AI is the primary service offered. The Commission has become concerned about the new policy preventing third-party AI providers from offering services through the messaging app in the European Economic Area (EEA), while allowing Meta AI to remain accessible to users on the platform. A WhatsApp spokesperson told Reuters that “the claims are baseless”, adding that the additions of chatbots on its platforms put “a strain on our systems that they were not designed to support". "Even still, the AI space is highly competitive, and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems,” the spokesperson said. This parallels an Italian investigation from July into allegations that Meta leveraged its market power by integrating an AI tool into WhatsApp. The EU probe
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Most digital platform complaints are about big tech: TIO
Most complaints about digital platforms in Australia are about major technology companies like Google and Apple, according to a Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) report, with the TIO calling for expanded powers to address these complaints as they increase. The report found 1,537 consumer complaints about digital platforms from January 2023 to August 2025, with a 26% year-over-year surge in the first half of 2025. The TIO’s jurisdiction currently only includes phone and internet-related complaints, and does not cover digital platforms. “When someone loses access to their telco service, we work with the consumer and the company to resolve the issue. But when someone is accidentally locked out of their social media or cloud storage account, and the platform is not responding, there’s nowhere for them to go,” said Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert. “We are calling for the Australian Government to expand the TIO to become the Communications Ombudsman. To support government reforms such as the under 16s social media ban and digital duty of care, it’s more important than ever that people have appeal rights when digital platforms get things wrong.” The most common digital platform complaint types were related to accessing acc
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Apple challenges India's anti-trust law
Apple is challenging India’s new antitrust law, which could see the major tech company face a fine of up to US$38 billion (A$58.23 billion), according to a court filing at the Delhi High Court. This is the first challenge against India’s anti-trust law since last year allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to use global turnover when calculating the penalties it imposes on companies for abusing their market dominance. In a filing viewed by Reuters, Apple said it was “unconstitutional, grossly disproportionate, unjust” for the CCI to use turnover when calculating penalties. The CCI have been investigating complaints from an alliance of Indian startups and Tinder-owner Match Group, which accuse Apple of “abusive conduct” through forcing developers to pay high commissions for in-app purchases. The CCI’s final verdict is still pending, but it said its “prima facie view [is] that mandatory use of Apple’s IAP for paid apps and in-app purchases restricts the choice available to the app developers to select a payment processing system of their choice,” in an order in December 2021. This comes as Apple recorded 5 million shipments in India during Q3 of 2025, its highest ever, according to data from IDC. The U.S.

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iPhone shipments expected to overtake Samsung in 2025
Apple iPhone shipments are set to overtake Samsung shipments for the first time in 14 years, according to Counterpoint data. The data found that iPhones will regain the number one position in 2025 and are poised to maintain it through to 2029. Counterpoint told CNBC that Apple is expected to ship 243 million iPhone units this year, compared with Samsung's 235 million. Apple is likely to end the year with a 19.4% market share of the global smartphone market, while Samsung will end up with an 18.7% market share. This comes as iPhone shipments exceeded expectations in Q3 2025, posting a 9% year-over-year growth for the quarter. This was driven by sales of the iPhone 17 during the first four weeks after launch, being 12% higher than those of the iPhone 16 series, excluding the iPhone 16e. In China, the sales of the iPhone 17 were 18% higher than its predecessor in the same time period. Counterpoint senior analyst Yang Wang said Apple’s bullish outlook would also be pushed along by the iPhone upgrade and replacement cycle. “Consumers who purchased smartphones during the COVID-19 boom are now entering their upgrade phase,” Wang said. “Furthermore, 358 million second-hand iPhones were sold between 2023 and Q2 2
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HP earnings decline, company plans layoffs
HP’s earnings per share continued to decline last quarter, with the company planning to reduce its workforce by 4,000 to 6,000 employees under new cost-cutting measures. Adjusted earnings per share were US$0.93, above LSEG estimates of $0.92 but down 6% year-over-year. Revenue was $14.64 billion, up 4.2% and beating estimates of $14.48 billion. “HP’s strategy to lead the Future of Work continues to deliver strong performance, marked by our sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth,” said HP CEO Enrique Lores. “Our FY25 results reinforce the power of our portfolio and the strength of our team in a dynamic environment. As we accelerate innovation across AI-powered devices to drive productivity, security, and flexibility for our customers, our focus for FY26 is on disciplined execution.” The company said it aims to save around $1 billion by the end of fiscal 2028 under its newly announced cost-cutting plan, which includes laying off between 4,000 and 6,000 employees worldwide. It projected a $650 million restructuring-related charge, with $250 million of this due in fiscal 2026. HP’s earnings per share have now fallen for four consecutive quarters, and its shares are down 16.7% across 2025 to date. Its Personal Sy
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Alibaba revenue rises with cloud surge
Alibaba beat estimates on revenue last quarter, driven by a surge in cloud computing. Revenue was up 5% year-over-year to CN¥247.80 billion, above LSEG estimates of ¥242.65 billion. Net income dropped 53% to ¥20.61 billion, due to investments in quick commerce and technology weighing on its adjusted EBITA. “We have entered into an investment phase to build long-term strategic value in AI technologies and infrastructure and a consumption platform integrating daily life services and e-commerce,” said Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu. “With our significant strategic investments in these areas, our two core businesses of AI + Cloud and consumption continued to deliver strong growth this quarter.” The company's International Digital Commerce Group segment saw revenue grow 10% to ¥34.80 billion. Its adjusted EBITA profit was ¥162 million, which it credited to logistics optimisation and investment efficiency. Alibaba’s China E-commerce Group’s revenue was up 16% to ¥114.77 billion, driven by a 60% increase in quick commerce revenue. Revenue for its Cloud Intelligence Group segment rose by 34% to ¥39.82 million. Its AI-related product revenue grew by triple digits year-over-year for the ninth consecutive quarter, though it did not d
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'We're everywhere' NVIDIA knocks Q3 earnings out of park
NVIDIA posted record revenue of US$57.01 billion for Q3 fiscal 2026 - a 62% surge from the prior year and 22% above the previous quarter's $46.7 billion. The Street expected $54.9 billion, and the company cleared that by more than $2 billion. Data centre revenue hit $51.2 billion, up 66% year-on-year and now accounting for 90% of total sales, with the Blackwell architecture driving most of that momentum as the chipmaker delivers its fastest product ramp in history. "Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out," NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said. "Compute demand keeps accelerating and compounding across training and inference - each growing exponentially. "We've entered the virtuous cycle of AI. The AI ecosystem is scaling fast - with more new foundation model makers, more AI startups, across more industries, and in more countries. AI is going everywhere, doing everything, all at once." Shares popped more than 4% in after-hours trading following the release.Q3 statsEarnings per share landed at $1.30 adjusted, ahead of the $1.25 consensus estimate - a 60% leap from 81 cents a year ago. Gross margins came in at 73.6% non-GAAP - down 1.4 percentage points from last year's 75%, but in lin