Brazil

A Brazilian federal court has overturned an antitrust ruling that would have required Apple to allow third-party payment systems in the App Store within 20 days. The initial ruling, issued on November 26, came in response to a 2022 complaint from Latin American e-commerce platform MercadoLibre. The regulator had ordered Apple to remove restrictions on alternative payment systems and allow...

Brazil's antitrust regulator has ordered Apple to remove App Store restrictions on third-party payment systems and allow developers to market alternative payment options for in-app purchases. Apple has 20 days to comply or face daily fines of $43,000. The ruling by the Council for Economic Defense (Cade) comes in response to a 2022 complaint filed by MercadoLibre, Latin America's largest...

Apple has started assembling the iPhone 15 model in Brazil, shifting in its global manufacturing approach to mitigate high import taxes and diversify its supply chain. As reported by MacMagazine (via 9to5Mac), the assembly process is being carried out at the Foxconn facility in São Paulo and seeks to reduce the high import fees levied on electronics in Brazil, which significantly inflate...

Apple has announced the launch of Tap to Pay on iPhone in Brazil, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the country to use ‌iPhones‌ as a payment terminal. Introduced in February 2022, the feature allows compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, using only an ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌...

Apple has increased the price of iCloud storage in several regions around the world, including the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Every Apple ID receives 5GB of free cloud storage, but users can upgrade to a paid ‌iCloud‌+ storage subscription plan to get 50GB, 200GB, or 2TB of storage. The price hike, first spotted by 9to5Mac, represents an...

A Brazilian court today levied a $19 million "social damages" fine (100 million reais) against Apple for selling iPhones without a charger, reports Reuters. The Sao Paulo state court said that Apple must offer battery chargers with iPhones that are sold in the country, providing a decision in a lawsuit brought about by the Brazilian association of borrowers, consumers, and taxpayers (AMBCC). ...

The Justice Ministry in Brazil today ordered Apple to stop selling iPhones without a charger in the box, reports Reuters. Brazilian officials say that Apple is giving customers an incomplete product when the power adapter is not included with the purchase, a move the government claims is a "deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers." Apple has been fined 12.275 million reais...

The Brazilian Supreme Court has issued a favorable opinion to Apple in a long-running dispute over the exclusive use of the iPhone brand in the country, local media reports. For those unfamiliar with the case, Brazil's highest court accepted a constitutional appeal in 2020 by ISB Electronica, an electronics company that registered the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ trademark in Brazil in 2000. Under the...

Brazil has become the latest country to propose mandating Apple to move away from the Lightning connector on the iPhone and switch to USB-C. As reported by Tecnoblog (via 9to5Mac), Anatel, which serves as Brazil's consumer authority body, has opened a new proposal that would require all smartphones in the country to adopt USB-C. Like proposals in the US and the EU, Anatel says that devices...

Apple must compensate a Brazilian customer who recently purchased an iPhone for selling the device without a charger included in the box, which violates consumer law, a judge has ruled. Apple's decision to remove the charger in the box sparked controversy in 2020. Apple claims the move is for environmental reasons, claiming the decision is equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the...

Apple has been slapped with a near $2 million fine in the Brazilian state of São Paulo over violations of the Consumer Law Code due to the lack of a charger in the box for newer iPhones, Brazilian tech news outlet Tilt reports. Procon-SP, São Paulo's consumer protection agency, decided to fine Apple following intense scrutiny over the decision to remove the power adapter from the boxes of...

Apple will be required to include a power adapter with every iPhone sold in São Paulo, Brazil, the state's consumer protection agency has declared. The public agency Procon-SP contacted Apple in October and asked the company to explain why it was no longer providing charging accessories with its new iPhones. Apple responded by touting the environmental benefits of no longer including a...

Apple is facing a trademark battle in Brazil as the Brazilian Supreme Court is set to determine whether Apple is allowed to use the iPhone trademark in Brazil. The Brazilian Supreme Court will rule on the issue following a constitutional appeal by IGB Electronica, an electronics company that registered the ‌iPhone‌ trademark in Brazil in 2000. Under the name Gradiente, IGB Electronica...

Facebook Lite, the social network's slimmed down app for low speed connections and low-spec phones, is being deactivated, reports MacMagazine. Facebook Lite was designed to work on poor internet connections like 2G networks or in rural areas with a bad signal, mainly by not downloading high resolution images or autoplaying videos, and the app could be used on older phones at the expense of...

Apple has included an ECG function in new Apple Watch models since 2018, providing users in select territories with the ability to measure the electrical activity of their heart. Apple now appears to be ready to extend the ECG feature to Brazil and Japan, based on recent government filings. According to MacOtakara, Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) recently updated...

Apple Watch Series 5 models are now available to purchase at Apple Stores and select resellers in Brazil, Korea, and Thailand, with both Wi-Fi-only and cellular models released today following pre-orders. Pricing starts at R$3,999 in Brazil, ₩539,000 in Korea, and ฿14,400 in Thailand. Carriers:Brazil: Claro and Vivo Korea: KT, SK Telecom, and LG U+ Thailand: AIS, dtac, and TrueMoveApple ...

Apple has announced through its regional websites that Apple Watch Series 3 LTE models will be available to pre-order in Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates on Friday, June 8. Brazilian customers hoping to pick up and Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE can expect to pay 3,119 reais (about $826) for the 38mm model and 3449 for the 42mm model. Claro will be the sole network...

Apple Pay has officially launched in Brazil today through an exclusive partnership with Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple Pay would be launching in Brazil during the company's first quarter earnings call, and today the "coming soon" label was removed from Apple's website. A number of Brazilian users have been able to set up Apple Pay as of this morning,...

Apple could well be on the cusp of launching Apple Pay in Brazil, almost two years after rumors of rollout in the region first surfaced. Users of iOS devices in the country who attempt to add a Visa Platinum Personnalité card from Itaú Unibanco to their Apple Wallet are now seeing a terms of service agreement relating to digital wallet use. The message was first spotted by local tech site Ma...

Starting in early 2018, Apple users in Brazil will pay for purchases from the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store using the Brazilian real instead of the dollar. The Brazilian real will also be used for Apple Music subscriptions and iCloud storage charges. Apple began notifying users about the change in emails that were sent out today. Once the currency change happens, all new purchases...